Opinion ID: 2359155
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: State v. Carlin

Text: In September 2006 John Carlin III was indicted on a charge of first-degree murder for killing Kent Leppink a decade earlier. A jury found Carlin guilty, and the trial court sentenced Carlin to serve 99 years in prison. In a separate trial following his conviction, Carlin's co-defendant, Mechele Linehan, was also convicted of first-degree murder on the theory that she aided and abetted Carlin. [2] Carlin appealed his conviction, arguing that the superior court should not have admitted certain hearsay statements made by Leppink and Linehan at his trial. Among the evidence admitted by the court was a letter written by Leppink shortly before his death in which he stated that if he died under mysterious circumstances, Linehan and either Carlin or another of Linehan's boyfriends would probably be the ones responsible. On October 27, 2008, before the opening brief in his appeal was filed, Carlin was murdered in prison. Carlin's appellate attorney from the Alaska Public Defender Agency moved to dismiss the appeal and vacate Carlin's criminal conviction under the doctrine of abatement ab initio that we adopted in Hartwell v. State. [3] The State opposed the motion, arguing in the alternative that (1) Hartwell should not apply because the abatement of Carlin's conviction could have collateral consequences for a retrial of Linehan should she be successful in appealing her conviction for aiding and abetting Carlin; or (2) the doctrine of abatement announced in Hartwell should be abandoned. The court of appeals rejected the State's arguments and granted the motion to dismiss the appeal and abate Carlin's conviction. The State petitioned for a hearing, requesting that we revisit our ruling in Hartwell. We granted the petition and permitted the Public Defender Agency to file an amicus brief in light of its expressed concern about the propriety of continuing its representation after Carlin's death. We also invited the Office of Victims' Rights to participate as amicus curiae. After the State filed its opening brief, but before any responsive brief was filed, the court of appeals reversed Linehan's conviction, holding that it was error to admit Leppink's accusatory letter from the grave. [4]