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…
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…
The State of Washington allows individuals who were convicted of a crime while they were a juvenile to seal the records pertaining to that conviction (RCW 13.50.050), as long as they meet certain criteria. Among other requirements (e.g. living in the community for two consecutive years without re-offending, not having any criminal proceedings pending against him), former juvenile offenders who wish…
The Washington State Supreme Court recently handed down an opinion in the State of Washington v. Darcus Dwayne Allen, involving Mr. Allen’s appeal of his conviction for First Degree Murder as Maurice Clemmons’ alleged getaway driver in the notorious murder of four Lakewood police officers in November 2009.
Several spectators in the courtroom arrived wearing T-shirts that read “You will not be…
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…
The case of State v. Monday made front-page news in June when the Supreme Court reversed a murder conviction based on the misconduct of a King County prosecutor, Senior Deputy James Konat. http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Supreme-Court-throws-out-Seattle-murder-1417103.php. Most of the ruling’s focus was on racially charged arguments made by Mr. Konat. In addition to using the pronunciation “po-leese” when cross-examining African-American witnesses (Mr. Konat…