Opiate addiction is a pervasive problem in many areas of the country, including Western Washington. Opiate addiction can predictably lead the sufferer into entanglement with the criminal justice system as he or she, desperate to avoid withdrawal, resorts to petty theft, burglary, or worse to fund his or her habit.
When an addict accumulates multiple charges in a compressed period of time it is often viewed…
In State v. Samalia the Washington State Supreme Court addressed whether a motorist who fled a stolen vehicle and left his cell phone inside the vehicle had “abandoned” the property and thereby surrendered any privacy interest he had in the phone. This case is one of many that are sure to make their way to the Supreme Court in coming years,…
In a case where the defendant, Nicholas Mayer, was accused and convicted of ten criminal counts after robbing a teriyaki restaurant at gunpoint, the Washington State Supreme Court had to decide whether Mayer adequately waived his Miranda rights (derived from the Fifth Amendment), and furthermore, whether that improper Miranda would have mattered when the evidence was stacked against the defendant.
After robbing…
In 2004, the United States Supreme Court, in Blakely v. Washington, held that for a judge to sentence a defendant above the standard sentencing range established by the state sentencing guidelines, a jury, not a judge, has to find the facts supporting the aggravating factor. In response, the legislature established a number of aggravating factors which will effect their sentence. In…
In State v O’Dell, the Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision with potentially far-reaching impact on the way courts sentence teenage offenders for serious felony charges. Sean O’Dell was convicted of second degree rape of a child for having sexual intercourse with a 12 year-old girl (she testified that it was forcible, he testified that it was consensual) less than two…
In its most recent opinion, the Washington State Supreme Court had to decide whether the trial court erred by instructing the jury that evidence includes everything that they (the jury) witness in the courtroom, including the defendant’s actions and demeanor.
Robert Barry stood trial for two counts of child molestation. During its deliberations, the jury sent the court a question asking…
In 2007 the Washington Legislature added another prong to the Assault Second Degree statute, defining “assault by strangulation or suffocation” as its own means of committing Assault 2, a “strike” offense under Washington law. Previously, an incident of strangulation would have to produce “substantial bodily harm” in order to meet the definition of Assault 2, but that is no longer the case. Instead, the…
In State v. Wade, Division One of the Washington State Court of Appeals affirmed the second-degree murder conviction of Gary Wade for the December 2010 strangulation death of Michelle Thornton, finding that it was not error for the trial court to exclude proffered evidence that Ms. Thornton’s ex-boyfriend, not Mr. Wade, was a possible suspect in her death.
Ms. Thornton was strangled in her…
The Washington State Court of Appeals Division III recently handed down an opinion in State v Budd which has to do with the warnings a police officer gives to a resident of a home before entering that home for the purpose of it being searched. Ferrier warnings, as they are called (named after a 1998 Washington State Supreme Court case), inform someone, whose…
On February 26th the Washington Supreme Court handed down a 6-3 decision in State v. Henderson reversing a trial court’s decision to deny Mr. Henderson a lesser-included-offense instruction for First Degree Manslaughter as an alternative to First Degree Murder. Defendants are entitled to lesser-included offense instructions where the evidence could reasonably lead a juror to convict on a lesser offense…
In her article, The Reliability of Assault Victims’ Immediate Accounts: Evidence from Trauma Studies, Melissa Hamilton of the University of Texas delves into social science research to question whether there is a scientific basis underpinning the assumptions that justify certain hearsay rules, in particular the “excited utterance” exception to the hearsay rule.
The excited utterance exception, codified in Evidence Rule…
Last week the Washington Supreme Court, in an 8-1 decision penned by Judge Steven Gonzalez, reversed a King County Superior Court verdict convicting Daniel Gunderson of felony violation of a no-contact order. The decision drew a line in the sand on 404(b) analysis in domestic violence cases after a series of decisions had expanded the purposes for which the…
The 2012 Washington State Legislature passed a bill directing the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) to conduct research on the recidivism trends of people convicted of domestic violence, and write a report on its findings. The scope of this report covered the fiscal years of 2001-2012.
Washington defines “domestic violence” in RCW 26.50.010 as “ (a) Physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or the…
In domestic violence cases there is often suspense regarding whether or not the alleged victim will appear at trial and testify against his or her current or former partner. If the alleged victim does not appear, the prosecution (and court) will frequently assume that the defendant has had something to do with his or her absence. In State v. Dobbs, our Supreme Court…
RCW 5.60.060 – Privileged Communication: Who is Disqualified?
This statute, as its name indicates, identifies whose communications are privileged. Privileged means that neither party to the relationship may testify in open court, nor otherwise disclose, any communication made during the course of that relationship without the other party’s consent. Broadly, the relationships covered by this statute are: spouses/domestic partners, priests &…
Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice made news in March when he was indicted for domestic violence/aggravated assault against his girlfriend, Janay Palmer, and married her a day later. Observers speculated that this was a legal maneuver to make the prosecution more difficult by allowing Ms. Palmer to invoke the marital privilege and refuse to testify against Mr. Rice.
If so,…
The near ubiquitous use of smartphones in the digital age has introduced a wealth of new evidence into many types of criminal cases. Law enforcement routinely subpoenas cell phone records to obtain call records that might substantiate contact between a suspect and a victim or co-conspirator, obtain text messages which can be used as admissions or provide helpful context to…
The Washington State Insitute for Public Policy (WSIPP) recently released its January 2013 report entitled “What Works to Reduce Recidivism of Domestic Violence Offenders.” http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/rptfiles/13-01-1201.pdf
The report examines the effectiveness of the “Duluth Model” of domestic violence treatment, after which Washington State domestic violence treatment programs are patterned. The “Duluth Model” intervention is based on a model developed in Duluth, Minnesota, in…
It is considered stock advice in the criminal defense trade that you should not, under any circumstances, talk to the police. The reason is simple: under the Rules of Evidence anything harmful you say can be used against you, but your out of court statements can’t be used to help you. This is because Evidence Rule 801(d)(2) allows an exception to the…