Deadlines After a Conviction
Alaska R. App. P. 204 — 30 days to appeal; then 18 months, or one year after an appeal, for post-conviction relief
30 days. The notice of appeal is filed within 30 days from the date shown in the clerk's certificate of distribution on the judgment appealed from, unless the appellate rules provide a shorter time for that kind of appeal.
Who handles this in Alaska: Alaska Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service; and legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Alaska directory.
After a motion in a criminal case. If a timely motion for a new trial or in arrest of judgment, or a timely motion for reconsideration, has been filed in the superior court, or a motion to reduce, correct or suspend the sentence under Criminal Rule 35 has been made within the 30 day period after the date shown in the clerk's certificate of distribution on the judgment, an appeal from the judgment may be filed within 30 days after the date of notice of the order deciding the motion.
18 months, or one year after an appeal. A claim may not be brought once the later of these dates has passed: 18 months after the entry of the judgment of the conviction or, if the conviction was appealed, one year after the court's decision is final under the Alaska Rules of Appellate Procedure. A claim that the sentence was illegal has no time limit.
Probation and parole. A claim about a court revocation of probation runs the same way from the order revoking probation. A claim against a final administrative decision of the Board of Parole or the Department of Corrections may not be brought once one year or more has elapsed from that decision.
When a court may still hear it. Notwithstanding those limits, a court may hear a claim where the applicant shows due diligence and a physical disability, a mental disease or defect, or an agent of the state prevented a timely claim; or, on newly discovered evidence, where the section's conditions are met and it establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the applicant is innocent.
Assigned counsel on appeal, a stay pending appeal, and federal habeas corpus run on rules and deadlines of their own and are not on this page. Whether a deadline has passed in a particular case is a question for a licensed Alaska attorney.
Sources for this section (2)
- Alaska R. App. P. 204 — Appeal: time, notice, bonds
- AS 12.72.020 — Limitations on applications for post-conviction relief
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Alaska attorney.