Rule 215 - Sentence Appeal(a) Appellate Review of Sentence.(1) Defendant's Right to Appeal Sentence as Excessive. A defendant may appeal an unsuspended sentence of imprisonment that exceeds two years for a felony offense or 120 days for a misdemeanor offense on the ground that the sentence is excessive, unless the sentence was imposed in accordance with a plea agreement that provided for imposition of a specific sentence or a sentence equal to or less than a specified maximum sentence. If a sentence is imposed in accordance with a plea agreement that provides for a minimum sentence, a defendant may appeal as excessive only the part of the sentence that exceeds the minimum sentence by more than two years for a felony offense or 120 days for a misdemeanor offense.(2) Defendant's Right to Appeal Sentence on Grounds Other Than Excessiveness. A defendant may appeal a sentence of any length on grounds other than excessiveness, including but not limited to: illegality of the sentence; erroneous findings by the trial court that affect the statutory range of sentences to which the defendant is subject; and procedural errors in the sentencing proceeding.(3) Prosecuting Authority's Right to Appeal Sentence. The prosecuting authority may appeal a sentence of any length as provided in AS 22.07.020.(4) Where Appeal is Taken. An appeal under subparagraphs (a)(1)-(3) must be taken to the court of appeals.(5) Right to Seek Discretionary Review for Excessiveness. A defendant may seek discretionary review of an unsuspended sentence of imprisonment which is not appealable under subparagraph (a)(1) by filing a petition for review in the supreme court under Appellate Rule 402. A defendant who is filing a sentence petition and a sentence appeal, or a sentence petition and a merit appeal, must follow the procedure set out in paragraph (j).(6)Victims Right to Seek Discretionary Review of Defendants Sentence . A victim as defined in AS 12.55.185 may seek discretionary review of an unsuspended sentence of imprisonment that is below the applicable presumptive sentencing range by filing a petition for review in the court of appeals under Appellate Rule 402.(b) Notification of Right to Seek Review of Sentence. At the time of imposition of any sentence of imprisonment, the judge shall inform the defendant (1) of the defendant's right to appeal or petition for review of the sentence under paragraph (a);(2) that the appellate court may reduce or increase the sentence, and that by appealing or petitioning for review of the sentence under this rule, the defendant waives the right to plead that by a revision of the sentence resulting from the appeal or review the defendant has been twice placed in jeopardy for the same offense; and(3) that if the defendant wants counsel and is unable to pay for the services of an attorney, the court will appoint an attorney to represent the defendant in an appeal or petition for review.(c) Notice of Appeal. A notice of appeal taken only from a sentence shall be filed with the clerk of the appellate courts not later than 30 days after the date shown in the clerk's certificate of distribution on the written judgment, except as provided for in Appellate Rule 204(a)(4). The notice of appeal need only state that the sentence which is being appealed is too lenient or excessive. When filed, the notice of appeal shall be accompanied by the items specified in Appellate Rule 204(b) [1], [2], [4], and [7].(d) Termination of Appeal. Any appeal of a sentence initiated by the defendant may be terminated by the defendant filing within 30 days from the filing of the notice of appeal a notice of intent to terminate the appeal. Such a termination shall prevent any increase in the sentence or sentences imposed.(e) Indigent's Right to Counsel on Sentence Appeal. An indigent defendant is entitled to the assistance of counsel in prosecuting an appeal on the ground that the sentence is excessive. Where an appeal is taken by the prosecution pursuant to AS 12.55.120(b) on the ground that the sentence is too lenient, and the defendant has not appealed, the appellate court in its discretion may appoint counsel for an indigent defendant.(f) Record on Appeal.(1) Preparation and Contents. Except as provided in paragraph (2), Appellate Rule 210 governs the content and preparation of the record on appeal.(2) Distribution. The parties must designate transcripts as set forth in Rule 210(b). The designation in a sentence appeal must include at least the entire sentencing hearing at which the sentence was imposed. If the sentence appeal is from a probation revocation proceeding, the designation must also include the original sentencing hearing and all prior probation revocation sentencing hearings.(g) Memoranda on Appeal.(1) By Appellant. Within 15 days after service of copies of the record on appeal provided for in (f) of this rule, the appellant shall file with the appellate court the original and three copies of a memorandum in support of the appeal.(2) By Appellee. Within 15 days after service of a copy of the appellant's memorandum, the appellee may file with the appellate court the original and three copies of a memorandum in opposition to the appeal.(3) Reply Memorandum. No reply memorandum shall be filed unless ordered by the court.(4) Form and Contents of Memoranda. Memoranda shall comply with Appellate Rule 513.5(b)(6)-(7) and shall also comply with Appellate Rule 212(b)-(c), except:(A) memoranda need not comply with Rule 212(c)(1)(A)-(E);(B) no memorandum shall exceed 25 pages without permission of the court; and(C) the front page of each memorandum shall include the information that Appellate Rule 212(b) requires on the cover of a brief.(5) Service of Memoranda. A party's memorandum shall be accompanied by proof of service on opposing counsel.(h)Oral Argument. The parties' right to oral argument and the procedures governing oral argument are set out in Rule 505. In cases where sentence appeals are consolidated with appeals on the merits, a timely request for argument on the merits is deemed to include a request for argument on the sentence appeal.(i) Bail Pending Appeal. A sentence appealed on the sole ground that the sentence is excessive does not confer or enlarge the right to bail pending appeal.(j) Combining of Sentence Appeals, Sentence Petitions, and Merit Appeals. A party filing a sentence appeal and a sentence petition shall combine the two, and the procedures for sentence appeals shall govern the case. A party filing a merit appeal shall combine that appeal with any sentence appeal or sentence petition, and the procedures for merit appeals shall govern the case. All combined proceedings must be taken initially to the court of appeals, and the court of appeals shall decide all issues within its jurisdiction.(k) Referral of Issues Outside Jurisdiction of Court of Appeals. In a combined appeal, upon final adjudication of all issues within the jurisdiction of the court of appeals, the court of appeals shall refer the case to the supreme court for discretionary review of any remaining sentence issues which are reviewable by the supreme court under subparagraph (a)(5) of this rule.SCO 439 effective 11/15/1980; amended by SCO 515 effective 10/1/1982; by SCO 554 effective 4/4/1983; by SCO 575 effective 2/1/1984; by SCO 781 effective 3/15/1987; by SCO 827 effective 8/1/1987; by SCO 829 effective 8/1/1987; by SCO 862 effective 7/15/1988; by SCO 940 effective 1/15/1989; by SCO 1021 effective 7/15/1990; by SCO 1153 effective 7/15/1994; and by SCO 1155 effective 7/15/1994; by SCO 1226 effective 1/22/1996; by SCO 1316 effective 7/15/1998; by SCO 1368 effective 4/15/2000; by SCO 1473 effective 10/15/2002; by SCO 1475 effective 10/15/2002; by SCO 1482 effective 10/15/2002; by SCO 1474 effective 10/15/2003; by SCO 1543 effective 10/15/2004; by SCO 1598 effective 10/15/2006; and by SCO 1655 effective 4/15/2008; amended by SCO 1973 effective 4/15/2022.Note to SCO 1655: Chapter 65, section 4, SLA 2005 (HB 54 ) amended AS 12.55.120 by adding a new subsection (e) to provide that a victim of the crime for which a defendant has been convicted and sentenced may petition for review in an appellate court of a sentence that is below the sentencing range for the crime. New paragraph (6) of Appellate Rule 215(a) is adopted for the sole reason that the legislature made that statutory change.