Washington Supreme Court Decisions 2012
Date: December 27, 2012
Docket Number: 85367-3
Justia Opinion Summary: The King County Superior Court relied on "Waples v. Yi," (234 P.3d 187 (2010)) in invalidating RCW 7.70.100(1) as applied to lawsuits against the State, including governmental agencies such as Harborview Medical Center.…
Date: December 20, 2012
Docket Number: 85699-1
Justia Opinion Summary: Larry Stout was severely injured while being apprehended by a subcontractor of CJ Johnson Bail Bonds. He sued the contractor, the subcontractor, and the owners of CJ Johnson under two theories of vicarious liability. The…
Date: December 20, 2012
Docket Number: 86610-4
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue before the Supreme Court in this case was whether a traffic stop motivated by an uncorroborated tip (but also independently motivated by a reasonable, articulable suspicion) was unconstitutionally pretextual…
Date: December 13, 2012
Docket Number: 86602-3
Date: December 13, 2012
Docket Number: 86602-3
Justia Opinion Summary: This case concerned Washington Constitution article II, section 40’s refund provision. Specifically at issue is the legislature’s statutory refund program, which places one percent of fuel tax revenues into a special…
Date: December 13, 2012
Docket Number: 86602-3
Date: December 6, 2012
Docket Number: 86859-0
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Nicholas Pappas challenged an appellate court decision that affirmed an exceptional sentence for vehicular assault based on the severity of the victim's injuries. The case arose from a 2008 motorcycle accident…
Date: December 6, 2012
Docket Number: 86936-7
Justia Opinion Summary: P.E. Systems, LLC (PES) offered to analyze and reduce the credit card processing costs of CPI Corp. (CPI). The parties signed an agreement that appeared to be a contract. CPI later repudiated the contract, disputing its…
Date: December 6, 2012
Docket Number: 87823-4
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants Vicki Parker, James Johnson, and Marie Clarke appealed a superior court order directly to the Supreme Court. The lower court's order denied them relief in an action challenging the candidacy of Christine…
Date: November 21, 2012
Docket Number: 82802-4
Justia Opinion Summary: "There exists a simple yet significant balancing test for trial courts to apply to consider whether specific circumstances warrant closing part of a trial to the public, set out in 'Washington v. Bone-Club,' (906 P.2d…
Date: November 21, 2012
Docket Number: 84585-9
Justia Opinion Summary: Rene P. Paumier appealed his conviction for residential burglary and second degree theft. The issue before the Supreme Court centered on whether Paumier's right to a public trial was violated when the trial court…
Date: November 21, 2012
Docket Number: 84856-4
Justia Opinion Summary: In this consolidated case, petitioners raised several issues, some common to both cases and others specific to each. Petitioner Michael Sublett challenged his convictions for premeditated first degree murder and felony…
Date: November 21, 2012
Docket Number: 84929-3
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Patrick L. Morris filed a personal restraint petition, alleging a violation of his right to a public trial when the trial court conducted part of voir dire in chambers. Further, he claimed his appellate…
Date: November 1, 2012
Docket Number: 85984-1
Justia Opinion Summary: William Munich was shot and killed by his neighbor, Marvin Ballsmider, approximately 18 minutes after he placed his first phone call to the Skagit Emergency Communications Center. The two had been in a property dispute…
Date: November 1, 2012
Docket Number: 86135-8
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent Monte Hunley was convicted by a jury in 2009 of attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle. The issue before the Supreme Court in this case was whether the sentencing court violated Respondent's right to…
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 85511-1
Justia Opinion Summary: Lindy Deer was convicted of third degree rape of a child after having sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old boy on multiple occasions. Deer claimed that she was asleep during several acts of intercourse and could not be…
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 86109-9
Justia Opinion Summary: When an insured defendant believes its insurer is refusing to settle a plaintiff's claims in bad faith, the insured can negotiate an independent pretrial settlement with the plaintiff, typically involving a stipulated…
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 86552-3
Justia Opinion Summary: The Washington constitution limits municipal indebtedness to protect taxpayers from legislative and voter improvidence. The issue before the Supreme Court centered on whether the city of Wenatchee (City) would exceed its…
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 86552-3
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 86563-9
Justia Opinion Summary: Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA) sought overtime pay pursuant to the Minimum Wage Act (MWA) for work performed by the approximately 1,200 registered nurses employed by Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane.…
Date: October 18, 2012
Docket Number: 84114-4
Justia Opinion Summary: The Estates of Barbara J. Nelson and Sharon M. Bracken challenged the efforts of the Washington State Department of Revenue (DOR) to treat them as having engaged in a present taxable transfer of assets that were actually…
Date: October 18, 2012
Docket Number: 84475-5
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Edward M. Glasmann was convicted of second degree assault, attempted second degree robbery, first degree kidnapping, and obstruction arising from incidents that occurred while he was intoxicated. During…
Date: October 18, 2012
Docket Number: 85422-0
Justia Opinion Summary: On direct review, appellant Phiengchai Sisouvanh challenged the adequacy of the competency evaluation she received pursuant to RCW 10.77.060 prior to her trial and conviction for aggravated first degree murder. Sisouvanh…
Date: October 18, 2012
Docket Number: 86220-6
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue before the Supreme Court in this case was whether particular officers and employees of a bank owed a quasi-fiduciary duty to particular bank depositors. Michael and Theresa Annechino deposited a large amount of…
Date: October 4, 2012
Docket Number: 84998-6
Date: October 4, 2012
Docket Number: 84998-6
Justia Opinion Summary: An employee of a church who claimed she was harmed by actions of a church's minister brought numerous claims against the church and the minister. At this point in the proceedings, the case involved her negligent…
Date: October 4, 2012
Docket Number: 84998-6
Date: October 4, 2012
Docket Number: 85971-0
Justia Opinion Summary: The Automotive United Trades Organization (AUTO) and Tower Energy Group (Tower) brought an as-applied state constitutional challenge to a tax based on the possession of petroleum as a hazardous substance. AUTO and Tower…
Date: September 27, 2012
Docket Number: 84940-4
Justia Opinion Summary: Parties David Koenig and Thurston County sought review of a decision by the Court of Appeals which held that a special sex offender sentencing alternative (SSOSA) evaluation could be disclosed under the Public Records…
Date: September 27, 2012
Docket Number: 85965-5
Justia Opinion Summary: Kevin Coe challenged a Court of Appeals decision that affirmed his 2008 commitment as a sexually violent predator (SVP). The trial court admitted evidence of several unadjudicated sexual offenses, and allowed an expert…
Date: September 27, 2012
Docket Number: 86793-3
Justia Opinion Summary: Three certified questions came before the court from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals concerning application of the farm labor contractors act (FLCA), chapter 19.30 RCW. The primary question asked whether a trial…
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 80209-2
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1997, Cecil Davis raped, robbed, and murdered 65-year-old Yoshiko Couch. A jury found him guilty of aggravated first degree murder and unanimously agreed that no mitigating factors warranted leniency, and was…
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 83983-2
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted Respondent Ryan Enquist's petition to review a decision of the Court of Appeals in which that court affirmed the trial court's award of costs and reasonable attorney's fees to Petitioner Jeffery…
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 85382-7
Justia Opinion Summary: This interlocutory appeal concerned a discovery dispute involving birth injuries sustained by Jordan Gallinat at Southwest Washington Medical Center in Vancouver, Washington, in 1996. In June 2009, Douglas Fellows, as…
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 86049-1
Justia Opinion Summary: In a medical malpractice case, Louis Diaz sought a new trial because the trial court admitted evidence that he settled before trial with two of the defendants. Diaz contended that the trial court misapplied RCW 7.70.080…
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 86410-1
Justia Opinion Summary: This case involved the Public Records Act (PRA) and whether, under RCW 42.56.540, the superior court could consider the identity of a public records requester when determining whether to issue an injunction. The superior…
Date: September 13, 2012
Docket Number: 86511-6
Justia Opinion Summary: After an amendment to the Washington Law Against Discrimination (WLAD), Debra Loeffelholz sued the University of Washington and her superior, James Lukehart (collectively “University”), for discrimination based on sexual…
Date: September 13, 2012
Docket Number: 86835-2
Justia Opinion Summary: This case centered on whether the recreational use immunity statute, RCW 4.24.200-.210, applied under the circumstances where a landowner, who otherwise operates an admission fee-based camp, allows a group access for no…
Date: September 6, 2012
Docket Number: 85992-2
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Charles Weber filed an untimely PRP asserting that he received ineffective assistance of counsel when his attorney failed to conduct a reasonable investigation of the case and failed to explore the possibility…
Date: August 30, 2012
Docket Number: 85661-3
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Automotive United Trades Organization brought suit against Washington State and its officials, challenging the constitutionality of disbursements the State gives to Indian tribes under fuel tax compacts. The…
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 82363-4
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners Ronnie Jackson Jr. and Salvador Rivera filed personal restraint petitions to challenge the firearm enhancements they received as part of their sentences, which became final in 2002. In response, the issue…
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 84949-8
Justia Opinion Summary: This case required the Supreme Court to examine how Washington's juvenile justice laws interact with the Persistent Offender Accountability Act (POAA), also known as the "three strikes law." When Jorge Saenz was 15…
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 85091-7
Justia Opinion Summary: Richard J. Dyer was a convicted rapist who denied his guilt and was therefore ineligible for sex offender treatment. He was serving a maximum term of life in prison. Though Dyer had a history of good behavior while in…
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 85801-2
Justia Opinion Summary: "A trial court must have authority to manage the parties and proceedings before it." The State argued the trial court in this case erroneously imposed sanctions in a criminal prosecution without explicitly finding bad…
Date: August 16, 2012
Docket Number: 85591-9
Justia Opinion Summary: This case concerned the dissolution of marriage and foreign travel restrictions imposed as part of a parenting plan under RCW 26.09.191(3). The restrictions were imposed by the trial court based on evidence that the…
Date: August 16, 2012
Docket Number: 85962-1
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue on appeal before the Supreme Court was whether RCW 4.16.160 bars a quiet title action where the claimant alleges he adversely possessed property belonging to a private individual before a municipality acquired…
Date: August 16, 2012
Docket Number: 86206-1
Justia Opinion Summary: The Federal District Court for the Western District of Washington has asked the Washington Supreme Court to answer three certified questions relating to two home foreclosures pending in King County. In both cases, the…
Date: August 16, 2012
Docket Number: 86603-1
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Kenneth Lamb was charged with, among other things, 10 counts of unlawful possession of a firearm. The State alleged that Lamb was precluded from possessing firearms because of his 1991 juvenile adjudication for…
Date: August 9, 2012
Docket Number: 85535-8
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Leo Macias worked as a tool keeper in a shipyard and his job required that he maintain respirators that other workers wore to filter out dangerous contaminants. Plaintiff and his wife Patricia brought this suit…
Date: August 9, 2012
Docket Number: 85732-6
Justia Opinion Summary: Rogelio and Elaine Ruvalcaba brought suit to condemn an easement across neighboring property held by individual landowners, referred to collectively as the "Day Group Petitioners." The Ruvalcabas argued that they were…
Date: August 9, 2012
Docket Number: 85791-1
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Douglas Rose challenged his convictions for unlawful possession of a stolen access device and for unlawful possession of a controlled substance. The issue before the Supreme Court was whether the credit card…
Date: August 9, 2012
Docket Number: 86899-9
Justia Opinion Summary: David Ward and Michael Whittaker were commissioners for the Jefferson County Fire Protection No. 2 (the District). Two citizens of the District, Harry Goodrich and Linda Saunders (the petitioners), initiated a recall…
Date: August 2, 2012
Docket Number: 86203-6
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-Appellant Jamar Meneese appealed his conviction for unlawfully carrying a dangerous weapon on school grounds and for possessing a controlled substance. He claimed the weapon, an air pistol, was seized in an…
Date: July 19, 2012
Docket Number: 85131-0
Justia Opinion Summary: This case concerned the standard for assessing prejudice in a personal restraint petition alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. Petitioner Hoyt Crace was convicted of attempted second degree assault with a deadly…
Date: July 19, 2012
Docket Number: 85949-3
Justia Opinion Summary: This case concerned the classification of workers as employees or independent contractors for purposes of the Washington Minimum Wage Act (MWA). A class of 320 former and current FedEx Ground Package System, Inc. (FedEx)…
Date: July 19, 2012
Docket Number: 86270-2
Justia Opinion Summary: Leysa and Leah Sweany challenged the sufficiency of the evidence supporting their convictions for arson in the first degree. In 2009, a fire damaged their trailer. The State charged both with alternative means of…
Date: July 19, 2012
Docket Number: 86359-8
Justia Opinion Summary: William Adam Gray shot Vita M. Moimoi and Sanelive S. Hikila at close range. Moimoi suffered a serious leg wound and Hikila bled to death. Although Gray fled the scene, he was soon identified and charged with second…
Date: June 28, 2012
Docket Number: 85893-4
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Jennifer Leigh Rice, a former public school teacher, molested one of her 10-year-old students. Her conduct was found to be predatory as charged in a special allegation under RCW 9.94A.836. She also abducted…
Date: June 28, 2012
Docket Number: 86084-0
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Joseph T. McEnroe sought a court order to seal documents that would have been used in support of a separate motion (his separate motion asked that he be tried second, following his codefendant’s severed trial).…
Date: June 21, 2012
Docket Number: 85697-4
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue before the Supreme Court concerned whether, in civil litigation, a party could decline to produce requested discoverable information on the basis that to locate the information would require consulting…
Date: June 14, 2012
Docket Number: 83660-4
Justia Opinion Summary: After a landslide damaged their home, homeowners Timothy Jackowski and Eri Takase (the Jackowskis) sued the sellers of the home, seeking rescission or, in the alternative, damages for fraud, fraudulent concealment,…
Date: June 14, 2012
Docket Number: 86033-5
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the Supreme Court was asked to resolve four issues that arose after Defendants Anthony Marquise Emery Jr. and Aaron Edward Olson were convicted at a joint trial of first degree kidnapping, first degree…
Date: June 7, 2012
Docket Number: 83682-5
Justia Opinion Summary: Two cases were consolidated before the Supreme Court because they were based on the same facts. Petitioners Robert Brown and Theodore Kosewicz were both involved in the kidnapping, torture, and killing of Sebastian…
Date: June 7, 2012
Docket Number: 85789-0
Justia Opinion Summary: In these two consolidated cases, the trial court instructed the jury that it must be unanimous to either accept or reject the aggravating circumstances, contrary to the Washington Supreme Court's decision in "State v.…
Date: May 31, 2012
Docket Number: 85781-4
Justia Opinion Summary: This case required the Supreme Court to construe the former RCW 64.12.030, the "timber trespass statute." Plaintiffs Jacon and Laura Jongeward, and Gordon and Jeannie Jongeward asserted a timber trespass claim against…
Date: May 31, 2012
Docket Number: 85905-1
Justia Opinion Summary: This case required the Supreme Court to construe the former RCW 64.12.030, the "timber trespass statute." Plaintiff Broughton Lumber Company asserted a timber trespass claim against defendants BNSF Railway Company and…
Date: May 31, 2012
Docket Number: 87188-4
Date: May 31, 2012
Docket Number: 87188-4
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court was asked to determine whether Initiative 1183 (I-1183) violated the single-subject and subject-in-title rules found in article II, section 19 of the Washington State Constitution. I-1183 removed the…
Date: May 31, 2012
Docket Number: 87188-4
Date: May 24, 2012
Docket Number: 83815-1
Justia Opinion Summary: Personal restraint petitioner Eric Flint maintains that his return to total confinement as a result of repeated violations of conditions of community custody violated the ex post facto clauses of the state and federal…
Date: May 24, 2012
Docket Number: 85260-0
Justia Opinion Summary: Christa Albice and Karen Tecca (hereinafter Tecca) inherited the property at issue in this case. In 2003, Tecca borrowed $115,500 against the property. The loan was serviced by Option One Mortgage Corporation (Option…
Date: May 24, 2012
Docket Number: 85260-0
Date: May 17, 2012
Docket Number: 85350-9
Justia Opinion Summary: This case involved the proper interpretation of a "resulting loss" clause in an all-risk insurance policy. It also provided an opportunity to clarify application of the efficient proximate cause rule. The Court of…
Date: May 17, 2012
Docket Number: 85794-6
Justia Opinion Summary: The supports for the deck system at Respondents Max and Krista Sprague's house rotted out due to improper construction techniques exposing the supports to the elements. Their claim for homeowners' insurance coverage was…
Date: May 10, 2012
Docket Number: 83606-0
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1994, Petitioner Darold Stenson was sentenced to death after he was found guilty of murdering his wife and business partner, Frank Hoerner. In 2009, Petitioner's counsel filed a personal restraint petition (PRP)…
Date: May 3, 2012
Docket Number: 84660-0
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted the State's petition to review a decision of the Court of Appeals which reversed Respondent Yussuf Abdulle's first degree theft and forgery convictions based on "Washington v. Davis" (438 P.2d…
Date: May 3, 2012
Docket Number: 85679-6
Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose from the tragic death of a teenager Ashlie Bunch. Ashlie’s adoptive father, Steven Bunch (Bunch) brought an action under RCW 4.24.010, against the treatment center where Ashlie committed suicide, McGraw…
Date: May 3, 2012
Docket Number: 85810-1
Justia Opinion Summary: The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit certified a question to the Washington Supreme Court concerning whether an "early termination fee" (ETF) in a broadband internet service contract constituted an…
Date: April 26, 2012
Docket Number: 85581-1
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court received a certified question from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The issue centered on whether under RCW 82.04.500 a seller may upon disclosure, recoup its business and occupation (B&O) tax by…
Date: April 26, 2012
Docket Number: 85746-6
Justia Opinion Summary: Police executed a search warrant and arrested Petitioner Patrick Jimi Lyons when they found a marijuana growing operation on his property. Probable cause for the search warrant was based solely on information from a…
Date: April 19, 2012
Docket Number: 85469-6
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted the State's motion for discretionary review of a decision of the Court of Appeals that reversed Defendant Brian Siers's conviction on one count of second degree assault. That court reversed the…
Date: April 19, 2012
Docket Number: 85653-2
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted the State's motion to review a decision of the Court of Appeals in which granted Respondent Mansour Heidari's personal restraint petition and vacated his second degree child molestation…
Date: April 19, 2012
Docket Number: 85654-1
Justia Opinion Summary: Business Services of America II, Inc. (BSA) sued WaferTech LLC. After the trial court dismissed BSA's claims, BSA appealed. In March 2004, the Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of all but one claim, which it remanded…
Date: April 19, 2012
Docket Number: 85892-6
Justia Opinion Summary: An Auburn city police officer arrested Defendant Dustin Gauntt for possessing marijuana and using drug paraphernalia. An Auburn city prosecutor brought charges against him in Auburn Municipal Court under state law. On…
Date: April 12, 2012
Docket Number: 85408-4
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent Michael Gendler made a public records request for location-specific accident reports from the Washington State Patrol (WSP). The WSP refused to provide the records unless Gendler certified that he would not…
Date: April 5, 2012
Docket Number: 84223-0
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Daniel Snapp was stopped by police when an officer observed air fresheners hanging from Defendant's rear view mirror that blocked the driver's view. Upon further inspection, the officer observed a carabiner…
Date: April 5, 2012
Docket Number: 85342-8
Justia Opinion Summary: Ron Teter was diagnosed with a tumor in his right kidney. Urologist Dr. Andrew Deck, assisted by Dr. David Lauter, performed surgery to remove Teter’s kidney. Immediately after surgery, Teter developed a condition in…
Date: April 5, 2012
Docket Number: 85944-2
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue before the Supreme Court involved whether the children of a decedent's predeceased spouse could be considered "stepchildren" under the wrongful death recovery statute. The decedent Audrey Blessing and the…
Date: April 5, 2012
Docket Number: 86532-9
Justia Opinion Summary: The Lewis County Superior Court found Defendant Michael Caton guilty of failure to report as a sex offender under the former RCW 9A.44.130 (2008). Defendant appealed, arguing among other things that the evidence did not…
Date: March 29, 2012
Docket Number: 83690-6
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was a claim for damages relating to a drilling contract Petitioner Elcon Construction and Respondent Eastern Washington University. Elcon alleged tort and contract claims. The contract claims were…
Date: March 22, 2012
Docket Number: 82957-8
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Daniel Posey,Jr. committed two counts of second degree rape when he was sixteen years old. A jury convicted him, and the superior court sentenced him as an adult. On direct review, the Supreme Court remanded…
Date: March 22, 2012
Docket Number: 86117-0
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue before the Supreme Court was whether "Blakely v. Washington" (542 U.S. 296 (2004)) applied to Petitioner Michael Rowland's resentencing hearing where he received an exceptional sentence on facts found by the…
Date: March 15, 2012
Docket Number: 85200-6
Justia Opinion Summary: This issue on appeal in this case involved a maritime claim for maintenance and cure and whether, under federal maritime law, a judge, instead of a jury, awards attorney fees following the jury award of compensatory and…
Date: March 15, 2012
Docket Number: 85227-8
Justia Opinion Summary: The principal issue in three consolidated cases was whether certifications attesting to the existence or nonexistence of public records are "testimonial statements" subject to the demands of the confrontation clause of…
Date: March 15, 2012
Docket Number: 86427-6
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent Aaron Hahn asked someone to make a girl "disappear" or appear as if she "never existed" or "just be gone." Respondent was convicted of solicitation to commit first degree murder. Respondent was charged with…
Date: March 8, 2012
Docket Number: 84894-7
Justia Opinion Summary: The superior court granted Snohomish County's motion to dismiss Respondent-Cross Petitioner Scott Stafne's land use petition and complaint. The issue on appeal involved whether a landowner seeking review of a county's…
Date: March 8, 2012
Docket Number: 84921-8
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue on appeal in this case involved a preelection challenge by Mukilteo Citizens for Simple Government to an initiative measure (Proposition 1) which repealed an ordinance governing the use of automated traffic…
Date: March 8, 2012
Docket Number: 84921-8
Date: March 8, 2012
Docket Number: 85570-6
Justia Opinion Summary: This issue before the Supreme Court in this case involved two different statutory schemes awarding attorney fees. One scheme, RCW 7.06.050-.060, discourages frivolous appeals from mandatory arbitration. The other scheme,…
Date: March 1, 2012
Docket Number: 82951-9
Justia Opinion Summary: In September 2000, Joshua Dean Scott and his partner in crime, Douglas Sean James-Anderson, robbed a jewelry store in south Tacoma. They brought several guns, including an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle. Alerted by a silent…
Date: March 1, 2012
Docket Number: 84828-9
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondents William and Sally Chapin Kiely owned real property in Port Townsend next to property owned by Kenneth and Karen Graves. An alley ran the length of the properties, and as long as anyone could remember, a wire…
Date: March 1, 2012
Docket Number: 85729-6
Justia Opinion Summary: After trial, a judge found that the State had established all statutory and constitutional factors necessary for the termination of Appellant Nyakat Luak's parental rights to her twin sons. Appellant argued on appeal…
Date: February 23, 2012
Docket Number: 83377-0
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Harry Carrier filed an untimely personal restraint petition asserting that his mandatory life sentence under the "two strikes" provision of the Persistent Offender Accountability Act (POAA) of the Sentencing…
Date: February 23, 2012
Docket Number: 83795-3
Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal the Supreme Court was asked to determine whether the parties' indemnity agreement clearly and unequivocally indemnified the Snohomish County Public Transportation Benefit Area Corporation (doing business…
Date: February 23, 2012
Docket Number: 83795-3
Date: February 23, 2012
Docket Number: 84739-8
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted the State's petition to review a decision of the Court of Appeals in which that court reversed the trial court's denial of Defendant Bobby Ray Thompson's motion for postconviction…
Date: February 23, 2012
Docket Number: 85765-2
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Roosevelt Rafelo Johnson Jr. was convicted by a jury of attempted promotion of commercial sexual abuse of a minor based on his interaction with two undercover police officers. The female undercover officers…
Date: February 16, 2012
Docket Number: 83937-9
Justia Opinion Summary: Four Mason County residents brought suit in Mason County Superior Court challenging the validity of an ordinance, which levied a special assessment on nonforest lands within the Mason Conservation District. The superior…
Date: February 16, 2012
Docket Number: 84452-6
Justia Opinion Summary: Several issues arose after a special deputy prosecuting attorney failed to attend a pretrial hearing and a superior court judge appointed a local defense attorney to take her place. The State appealed the resulting…
Date: February 16, 2012
Docket Number: 84714-2
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Kenneth Budik was one of two victims of a shooting in Spokane. The other victim, Adama Walton, died as a result of the shooting. Based on Petitioner's statements that he did not know who was responsible for…
Date: February 16, 2012
Docket Number: 85230-8
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent Bonnie Anthis won a civil suit against Petitioner Walter Copland for the wrongful death of her husband, Harvey Anthis. Respondent sought to collect Petitioner's only known asset, his retirement pension, to…
Date: February 9, 2012
Docket Number: 84686-3
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court consolidated "Matsyuk v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Company" and "Weismann v. Safeco Insurance Company of Illinois" for the purpose of clarifying the pro rata sharing rule announced in several…
Date: February 9, 2012
Docket Number: 84716-9
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent Lester Ray Jim, an enrolled member of the Yakama Nation, was cited by for unlawfully retaining undersized sturgeon. This occurred at the Maryhill Treaty Fishing Access Site (Maryhill), a plot of land set aside…
Date: February 2, 2012
Docket Number: 81939-4
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner James Eastmond was convicted of first degree robbery and first degree burglary. At sentencing, the trial court imposed an enhancement on Petitioner's sentence, based on the jury's determination that he was…
Date: January 26, 2012
Docket Number: 84197-7
Justia Opinion Summary: A person under arrest for vehicular assault is subject to a mandatory blood test. Prior to the test administered in this case, the arresting trooper asked an interpreter to read the special evidence warning in Spanish to…
Date: January 26, 2012
Docket Number: 84824-6
Justia Opinion Summary: The city of Tacoma has franchise agreements with Pierce County and the cities of Fircrest, University Place, and Federal Way (Municipalities) to provide them with water services. The issue before the Supreme Court was…
Date: January 26, 2012
Docket Number: 85549-8
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner John Hurst was charged with a felony, but he was found incompetent to stand trial. He was twice committed to a mental health treatment facility. After two 90-day periods in the facility, Petitioner failed to…
Date: January 12, 2012
Docket Number: 83745-7
Justia Opinion Summary: ZDI Gaming, Inc. distributes certain gaming machines that allow players to play what amounts to "slot machines" using "cash cards" to place their bets. The version of the machine that gave rise to this case allows the…
Date: January 12, 2012
Docket Number: 83745-7
Date: January 12, 2012
Docket Number: 85556-1
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue before the Supreme Court was whether the deduction in RCW 82.04.433(1) applies to reduce Business and Occupation (B&O) taxes for manufacturing activities. Plaintiff Tesoro Refining and Marketing Company owns…
Date: January 5, 2012
Docket Number: 84148-9
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners Roger Scherner and Michael Gresham were separately charged with child molestation. At trial, relying on the recently enacted RCW 10.58.090, the State successfully introduced evidence that Scherner and Gresham…
Date: January 5, 2012
Docket Number: 84362-7
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue before the Supreme Court was the overall adequacy of state funding for K-12 education under the Washington State Constitution. "The legislature must develop a basic education program geared toward delivering…
Date: January 5, 2012
Docket Number: 84422-4
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue before the Supreme Court concerned a dispute between Petitioners Donia Townsend and several other home purchasers and Defendant Quadrant Corporation and its parent companies over an arbitration clause in the…
Date: January 5, 2012
Docket Number: 84554-9
Justia Opinion Summary: The question before the Supreme Court in this case was whether a fact-finding hearing of "rapid recidivism" was a "sentencing" hearing exempt from the state rules of evidence. After a bench trial, the superior court…
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