James Sielak v. State Alaska

RABINOWITZ, Justice. OPINION. This is a sentence appeal. Upon his plea of nolo contendere, appellant James Sielak was found guilty of assault with a dangerous weapon in violation of AS 11.15220. 1 The incident involved was a drunken attack by Sielak on his wife with a kitchen knife; in the attack, her hand was cut and the knife was put to her throat and breast. He was given two-year suspended sentence. Special conditions of probation were that Sielak enroll in, and successfully complete the Fairbanks Comprehensive Alcoholism Program and that he not return to his hometown of Barrow except with the permission of the court. Three weeks after beginning the alcohol treatment program, Sielak left the program without permission. The superior court found that Sielak had violated the probation conditions of the suspended sentence and sentenced him to serve a ten year term. Sielak now appeals claiming that his sentence is excessive. Sielak was given the maximum sentence for the crime of which he was adJudged guilty. 2 In Waters v. State, 483 P.2d 199, 201 (Alaska 1971), we discussed the circumstances in which a maximum sentence is appropriate: