In the Matter of Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault

Summary

The court held that the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault qualifies as a public agency for purposes of the statutory obligation to provide counsel to an indigent parent when the opposing party is represented by publicly supported counsel. It reasoned that the governing precedent primarily concerned the public funding underlying the representation, and that the organization's nearly entirely governmental funding and similarity to the previously recognized organization outweighed differences in corporate structure and grant mechanisms. The court therefore affirmed the superior court's refusal to withdraw appointed counsel. Stowers, Justice, dissenting, would have held that the organization was not a public agency and that extending the prior precedent was a legislative policy choice.