Robert A. v. Tatiana D.

Summary

The Alaska Supreme Court affirmed the superior court’s order granting Robert A. conditional supervised visitation and upheld the court’s use of collateral estoppel to bar relitigation of the 2012 sexual‑abuse finding. The Court held that the superior court did not abuse its discretion in either applying collateral estoppel (or the law‑of‑the‑case doctrine) or in conditioning visitation on a detailed safety plan, and that it correctly applied the preponderance‑of‑evidence standard. The decision emphasizes the finality of custody determinations and the court’s broad discretion in protecting children’s best interests.