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…
Article I, section 7 of the Washington State Constitution (see p. 5) states that “[n]o person shall be disturbed in his private affairs, or his home invaded, without authority of law.” The case of State v. Cates grapples with whether a community custody condition permitting a community corrections officer (CCO) to inspect the files of an individual under community supervision is facially valid…
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…
The Washington State Supreme Court recently ruled on a case, State v. SJC, which presented the question of whether the Washington State Constitution, Art. I Sec. 10 – Administration of Justice requires the court to apply the Ishikawa factors when a former juvenile offender has satisfied the statutory requirements of RCW 13.50.050 to seal his or her juvenile court record. The juvenile court…
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 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 January the Washington Supreme Court struck down a statute which changed the rules of evidence to allow “propensity evidence” in sex offense prosecutions. The Court ruled, inState v. Gresham, that the legislature’s tinkering with the rules of evidence violated the courts’ prerogative to define the Rules of Evidence and was therefore an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers…