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12 Alaska B. Rag 1 (1988)

handle is hein.barjournals/askabar0012 and id is 1 raw text is: Commercial law tribulations remain BY JAMES T. STANJLEY he tribulations of commer- cial, bankruptcy and real es- tate attorneys in response to the present economy should not come as a great surprise. Are they suffering, or are they wealthy par- asites taking advantage of the eco- n omic ills rampant within the Alas- ka economy? What is the impact of present economic conditions on commercial, bankruptcy and real estate practices? No major surprises or changes in the trend appear now, compared .= ' , with mid-1986. Bankruptcies con- - : e rr.-,a. tinue to be up and real estate sales - continue to be down. Commercial ... .... law still appears worth practicing, _ . but the concentration seems to be -.,, , -- on workouts and problem-solvings .. _ _ rather than commercial transac- tions deriving from new ventures, The workload in U.S. Bankruptcy Court here has prompted the Alaska Con- new capital and new opportunities, gressional delegation to request an additional budget end judge In 1988. See related economy coverage inside, ri s-R , em. Stat constitutlions re-emerge BY MICKALE CARTER Probably the most significant current development in our con- stitutional jurisprudence is theap- plication by more and more state courts of state constitutional coun- terparts of provisions of the Fed- eral Bill of Rights as providing citizens of their states even more protection than the federal provi- sions, even those identically pbras- ed. -Justice William J. Brennen Jr. -ir ustice Edmond Burke of the Alaska Supreme Court be- came intensely interested in what has been called the new fed- eralism about five years ago when he attended the Williamsburg Con- ference in Williamsburg, Virginia, the home of the National Center for State Courts. When the first course book on state constitutional law was published, Justice Burke wanted to alert the members of the Alaska Bar to the availability of that case book. He also wantedto remind the members of the Alaska Bar of the potency of the Alaska State Consti- tution. The legal scholars, judges and educators that met at the Williams- burg Conference discussed the emer- gence of a renewed interest in state constitutions- The new interest was generated by two separate forces. There were those who feared that the United States Supreme Court might retreat from its position with regard to individual rights. They thought that if that happened, the people's salvation may lie with state constitutions. Therewere also those who simply felt that the state constitutions ought not to be ignored. For a time, the briefs by the attorneys to the state supreme courts as well as the opinions generated by the state su- preme courts, frequently, at best, lumped the state constitution with the United States Constitution, as if they were the same. Other state court opinions addressed the fed- eral constitutional issues before looking to the state constitution. Justice Burke is among the growing number of scholars, judges and edu- cators who believe that the state supreme court should examine its own constitution first. Although the United States Su- preme Court has the final say as to the rights afforded pursusnt to the United States Constitution, Justice Burke noted that each state is free through its own constitution to af- ford its citizens more rights than those granted under the United States Constitution. In addition to the possibility of expanded human rights, Justice Burke pointed out there are practical considerations for addressing the state constitu- tional issue first. When the state court's decision is based upon the United States Constitution, that de- cision can be reviewed by the Uni- ted States Supreme Court. If the state supreme court finds a basis for a right in the state's constitution, then there is no federal question. The decision based upon the state constitution is final. Such finality saves the parties the expense of an appeal to the United States Supreme Continued on Page !0 Mark Bledsoe, managing partner at Bledsoe and Schadt, concentrates his legal efforts in the areas of commercial business, real estatelaw and estate planning. He has prac- ticed law in Alaska since 1976. Mark has seen a substantial change in the type of his work as a result of current economic conditions. His office was busy when times were good and continues to be busy even though the times are economically bad. He finds himself much more involved in bankruptcy matters and in foreclosure matters, as well as broken contract litigation, compared to three -yearr ago when he was negotiating business and develop- ment dealE,, construction contracts, and related matters. Mark believes the present trends Continued on Page 13 Oscar picks Reviewer says its Last Emperor and Moonstruck By ED Re ASOR Ed. Note: Since several incidents of Murhpy's Law delayed the Bar Rag going to press, the Academy Awards nominations were announc- ed before press time. We asked the Rag's own Movie Mouthpiece, Ed Reasor, to give us his choices while we waited, since Oscar winners will be announced by the time we next go to press in late April. The MM was delighted to comply. Here are his predictions: y friends Siskel & Ebert on their popular At the Mov- ies format on Saturday evenings, have -neer- yet .ucc. .- fully predicted more than a 50 per- cent average of Academy Award Continued on Page 21 Alaska Bar Association P.O. Box 100279 Anchorage, Alaska 99510 5sse-, tOsalzia

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