Washington Supreme Court Decisions 2014
Date: December 31, 2014
Docket Number: 88115-4
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners William Ralph and William Forth et al. (Forth) appealed the dismissal of their separate actions against the State of Washington Department of Natural Resources, Weyerhaeuser Company, and Green Diamond…
Date: December 31, 2014
Docket Number: 89689-5
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue central to this appeal centered on the filing of a type of report about a juvenile offender: whether a special sex offender disposition alternative (SSODA) evaluation should be filed in the official juvenile…
Date: December 31, 2014
Docket Number: 89924-0
Justia Opinion Summary: Donald Martin was killed by a machine at a paper plant. His widow Nina Martin tried to sue the company that installed the machine, but that company no longer existed. Martin had difficulty discerning which company was…
Date: December 31, 2014
Docket Number: 90567-3
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented for the Supreme Court's review centered on whether a potential obstacle to public access constituted a courtroom closure: a sign that listed the courthouse hours. After a jury trial in…
Date: December 24, 2014
Docket Number: 88883-3
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Dante McWilliams received the exceptional sentence of 120 months of confinement and 18 months of community custody, which, in the aggregate, exceeded the statutory maximum for his offense. McWilliams pled…
Date: December 24, 2014
Docket Number: 89448-5
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, Maurice Clemmons shot and killed four Lakewood police officers. Clemmons contacted petitioners Eddie Davis and Letrecia Nelson shortly after the shootings. Based on their actions following that contact,…
Date: December 18, 2014
Docket Number: 87946-0
Justia Opinion Summary: In two separate King County Superior Court cases, petitioner Adonijah Sykes was charged with three violations of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, chapter 69.50 RCW. Sykes successfully petitioned to participate in…
Date: December 18, 2014
Docket Number: 89666-6
Justia Opinion Summary: Washington State Patrol Trooper Chris Stone saw a truck, driven by defendant Ryan Quaale speed by in a 25-mile per hour zone on a residential street. Trooper Stone activated the lights on his patrol car and attempted to…
Date: December 11, 2014
Docket Number: 89293-8
Justia Opinion Summary: ln consolidated cases, petitioners brought an untimely challenge to San Juan County's issuance of a garage-addition building permit. Petitioners did not receive notice of the permit application and grant until the…
Date: December 11, 2014
Docket Number: 89648-8
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented for the Washington Supreme Court's review centered on whether the city of Lakewood's explanation for redacting driver's license numbers from records produced for David Koenig was inadequate…
Date: December 11, 2014
Docket Number: 89693-3
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Ronald Speight filed a timely personal restraint petition, claiming for the first time on collateral review that his right to a public trial under article I, section 22 of the Washington State Constitution,…
Date: December 11, 2014
Docket Number: 89694-1
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case and in "In re Personal Restraint of Speight,"prospective jurors were questioned in chambers without the trial court engaging in the analysis required by "Washington v. Bone-Club." After his convictions were…
Date: December 11, 2014
Docket Number: 89902-9
Justia Opinion Summary: The plaintiff-patient presented expert testimony in this medical malpractice case establishing that following the patient's heart surgery, the surgeons in charge of the patient's postoperative recovery failed to meet…
Date: December 11, 2014
Docket Number: 90115-5
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs sued their neighbors, arguing, among other things, that the noise, smoke, fumes, and traffic associated with a small motor repair shop was in effect a nuisance in fact and that their neighbors are subject to…
Date: December 11, 2014
Docket Number: 90133-3
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006, a handicap access ramp platform at a residential construction site in Spanaway collapsed when plaintiff Jesse Powers used it. Powers fell while working for Awning Solutions, a company hired by Premier…
Date: December 4, 2014
Docket Number: 201,256-6
Date: November 26, 2014
Docket Number: 89302-1
Justia Opinion Summary: John Jones, III was convicted in 2008 for second degree assault. At his first sentencing hearing, the State presented evidence of several California convictions, including one count of murder with a firearm, two counts…
Date: November 26, 2014
Docket Number: 89900-2
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Ignacio Cobos represented himself at his sentencing hearing and objected to the State's calculation of his offender score. The trial judge sentenced Cobos with the offender score asserted by the State without…
Date: November 20, 2014
Docket Number: 88575-3
Justia Opinion Summary: In the 1980s, Charles Spencer and George Livingston formed a partnership to develop and sell property in rural Lincoln County near the confluence of Lake Roosevelt and the Spokane River. Over the next 20 years, the…
Date: November 20, 2014
Docket Number: 89297-1
Justia Opinion Summary: The State charged Daniel Gunderson with felony domestic violence after violating a September 2010 court order relating back to an altercation between himself and Christina Moore, his ex-girlfriend. At trial, Moore…
Date: November 13, 2014
Docket Number: 89570-8
Justia Opinion Summary: On methamphetamine, petitioner Jason Graham went on a shooting spree. He used an AK-47 to fire at six different police officers during a foot chase through downtown Spokane. He was eventually convicted by jury of 10…
Date: November 13, 2014
Docket Number: 89869-3
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Sonia Graciano was injured after she was hit by a car driven by Saul Ayala. Ayala was insured by defendant California Automobile Insurance Company (CAIC). Three weeks after Graciano's attorney first contacted…
Date: November 6, 2014
Docket Number: 89853-7
Justia Opinion Summary: After Theresa Scanlan filed a personal injury action against Karlin Townsend, a process server delivered a copy of the summons and complaint to Townsend's father at his home. But Townsend did not live at her father's…
Date: October 30, 2014
Docket Number: 88341-6
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented for the Supreme Court's review centered on whether it violates due process to assign a defendant the burden of proving consent as a defense to a charge of rape by forcible compulsion.…
Date: October 30, 2014
Docket Number: 89132-0
Justia Opinion Summary: In August 2007, Winnie Lyons signed a promissory note secured by a deed of trust encumbering her real property in Burien. The property served as Lyons' primary residence and was also where she operated an adult family…
Date: October 30, 2014
Docket Number: 89318-7
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, Christian Williams stole several items from the home of his childhood friend and former housemate, Bo Larsen. When Larsen confronted Williams about the stolen items, Williams admitted his involvement and…
Date: October 23, 2014
Docket Number: 88234-7
Justia Opinion Summary: The State charged defendant with second and third degree assault, as well as first degree unlawful possession of a firearm based on multiple juvenile convictions for robbery that rendered him ineligible to possess a…
Date: October 23, 2014
Docket Number: 88298-3
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented for the Supreme Court's review centered on whether a portion of the wages paid to plaintiff Shaun LaCoursiere was rebated to his employer or its agent in violation of Washington's wage…
Date: October 9, 2014
Docket Number: 88460-9
Justia Opinion Summary: In December 1995, Teresa Schmidt slipped and fell while visiting a Tacoma grocery store. She retained Timothy Coogan to represent her in a claim against the store. Just days before the statute of limitations ran, Coogan…
Date: October 9, 2014
Docket Number: 88940-6
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1989, the Washington Legislature mandated coverage for neurodevelopmental therapies (neurodevelopmental therapies or NOT) (speech, occupational, and physical therapy) in employer-sponsored group plans for children…
Date: October 2, 2014
Docket Numbers: 89419-1, 89500-7
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013, the legislature amended the Estate and Transfer Tax Act in response to the Washington Supreme Court's decision in "In re Estate of Bracken," 290 P.3d 99 (2012), in which the Court narrowly construed the term…
Date: October 2, 2014
Docket Number: 89671-2
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, Kristine Failla, a Washington resident and experienced salesperson, was looking for a job she could perform from her Gig Harbor home. She e-mailed Kenneth Schutz looking for such a position. Schutz was the…
Date: September 25, 2014
Docket Numbers: 80727-2, 86513-2
Justia Opinion Summary: In consolidated criminal cases, the issue common to both was whether a defendant could waive his right to a public trial under article I, section 22 and/or article I, section 10 of the Washington State Constitution. In…
Date: September 25, 2014
Docket Number: 85306-1
Justia Opinion Summary: Anthony Koss was convicted of first degree burglary. Before jury deliberations, the judge and counsel met in chambers. Immediately afterwards, the judge stated in open court that she had given counsel the jury…
Date: September 25, 2014
Docket Number: 85809-8
Justia Opinion Summary: William Smith claimed that the trial court violated his public trial right when courtroom limitations led to holding "sidebar" conferences in a hallway outside the courtroom on the record with counsel present. Smith…
Date: September 25, 2014
Docket Number: 86072-6
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented for the Supreme Court's review centered on whether the portion of jury selection in which the court excuses jurors for hardship is a proceeding to which the public trial right attaches. The…
Date: September 25, 2014
Docket Numbers: 86216-8, 87259-7
Justia Opinion Summary: In the unrelated trials of Henry Grisby III and Gregory Shearer, the trial judges questioned a juror in private without making a finding that specific circumstances warranted closing the questioning to the public. This…
Date: September 25, 2014
Docket Numbers: 87654-1, 88172-3
Justia Opinion Summary: About 25 years ago, petitioners Russell McNeil and Herbert Rice Jr. were tried as adults and convicted of aggravated first degree murder for crimes committed while the petitioners were both a little over 17 years old.…
Date: September 25, 2014
Docket Number: 87844-7
Justia Opinion Summary: Kenneth Slert was tried and convicted three times for the murder of John Benson. His first two convictions were reversed. In his third trial, prospective jurors were given a questionnaire designed to determine if any of…
Date: September 25, 2014
Docket Number: 89367-5
Justia Opinion Summary: This case centered on the interpretation of a state tax deduction statute. Former RCW 82.04.4292 (1980) provided that in computing their business and occupation (B&O) tax, banks and financial institutions could deduct…
Date: September 18, 2014
Docket Number: 88511-7
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, Gary Walston was exposed to asbestos while working at The Boeing Company and was later diagnosed with mesothelioma. The Court of Appeals held that pursuant to the Industrial Insurance Act (IIA), Boeing was…
Date: September 18, 2014
Docket Number: 89343-8
Justia Opinion Summary: The United States District Court for the Western District of Washington certified a question of Washington law to the Washington Supreme Court. The issue centered on whether Washington law recognized a cause of action…
Date: September 18, 2014
Docket Number: 89377-2
Justia Opinion Summary: Kathryn Scrivener sued Clark College, claiming that age was the reason it did not hire her for a tenure track teaching position. She was 55 years old at the time, squarely within the 40- to 70-year-old age range…
Date: September 4, 2014
Docket Number: 89788-3
Justia Opinion Summary: When Rachel Anderson (formerly Rachel Rodgers) was six years old, a horse kicked her in the face and she sustained serious injuries. Her many fractures and lacerations required multiple surgeries and she suffered severe…
Date: September 4, 2014
Docket Number: 89881-2
Justia Opinion Summary: The State charged Joseph McEnroe and Michele Anderson with aggravated first degree murder and sought the death sentence for each of them. Roughly five and a half years after the State filed its notices of intent to seek…
Date: August 28, 2014
Docket Number: 88414-5
Justia Opinion Summary: The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington certified a question of Washington law to the Washington Supreme Court. This lawsuit involved two consolidated suits. Plaintiffs filed an amended…
Date: August 28, 2014
Docket Number: 89625-9
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented to the Supreme Court was whether, under Evidence Rules (ER) 702 through 705, the trial court properly admitted expert biomechanical testimony in an automobile collision case. In August 2006,…
Date: August 21, 2014
Docket Number: 88336-0
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1993, petitioner Lindsey Crumpton was convicted of five counts of first degree rape and one count of residential burglary. In 2011, he petitioned the court for post-conviction deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing. The…
Date: August 21, 2014
Docket Number: 88482-0
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was whether Washington State courts have jurisdiction over a civil case arising out of a contract in which the tribal corporation waived its sovereign immunity and consented to jurisdiction in…
Date: August 21, 2014
Docket Number: 89502-3
Justia Opinion Summary: The State charged Joseph Peltier in 2002 with two counts of second degree rape (as to B.M. and S.B.), one count of second degree child molestation (as to S.G.), and one count of second degree rape of a child (as to…
Date: August 21, 2014
Docket Number: 89774-3
Justia Opinion Summary: In this class action lawsuit, the trial court found that the State wrongfully denied health benefits to a number of its part-time employees. The issue this case presented for the Supreme Court's review was how to value…
Date: August 21, 2014
Docket Number: 89805-7
Justia Opinion Summary: Daniel Pashniak, purchaser of two condominiums at a foreclosure sale, wanted to withdraw his bids. The judgment creditor, Sixty-01 Association of Apartment Owners, wanted to confirm the sales. RCW 6.21.11 0(2) states,…
Date: August 14, 2014
Docket Number: 87424-7
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented to the Supreme Court was whether the Washington legislature's 2007 repeal of gain sharing-a pension enhancement provided in years of extraordinary investment return-unconstitutionally…
Date: August 14, 2014
Docket Number: 88546-0
Justia Opinion Summary: The Washington Department of Retirement Services (DRS) and the State of Washington appealed an order granting summary judgment to a class of public employee unions and unaffiliated employees and holding that the 2011…
Date: August 7, 2014
Docket Number: 89369-1
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the trial court granted a new trial after Edwin Hawkins produced new evidence that supported his defense theory that he was framed for possessing stolen farm equipment. The Court of Appeals did not give…
Date: August 7, 2014
Docket Number: 89534-1
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs worked as night janitors for subcontractors in various Puget Sound Fred Meyer grocery stores. They alleged that they regularly worked well over 40 hours per week without being paid either minimum wage or…
Date: August 7, 2014
Docket Number: 90110-4
Justia Opinion Summary: In early 2013, Pierce County detained the 10 respondents in this case (all patients) under the Involuntary Treatment Act (ITA). In most cases, the respondents were initially held in hospital emergency rooms or in local…
Date: July 31, 2014
Docket Number: 88132-4
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case and its companion, LK Operating, LLC v. Collection Grp., LLC, (No. 88846-9) (Wash. July 31, 2014), the central issues on appeal arose from a joint venture agreement regarding a debt collection business. The…
Date: July 31, 2014
Docket Number: 88339-4
Justia Opinion Summary: Russell Homan was convicted of child luring. On appeal, Homan argued that his conviction violated his Fourteenth Amendment right to due process because the evidence was insufficient for conviction and that RCW 9A.40.090…
Date: July 31, 2014
Docket Number: 88846-9
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case and its companion, LK Operating, LLC v. Collection Grp., LLC,(No. 88132-4), the central issues on appeal arose from a joint venture agreement regarding a debt collection business. The debt collection…
Date: July 31, 2014
Docket Number: 89317-9
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented to the Supreme Court centered on proceedings to determine the fair value of shares in a closely held corporation. The primary question presented was whether the respondents, shareholders who…
Date: July 31, 2014
Docket Number: 89390-0
Justia Opinion Summary: At his arraignment in August 2012, Petitioner Peter Barton pleaded not guilty to a charge of rape of a child in the first degree. The court set bail at $250,000. The prosecutor asked for a condition requiring 10 percent…
Date: July 24, 2014
Docket Number: 88036-1
Justia Opinion Summary: Ignacio Encarnacion and Norma Karla Farias were sued for unlawful detainer even though they had a valid lease and did nothing to warrant eviction. The case settled. They moved to amend the Superior Court Management…
Date: July 17, 2014
Docket Number: 88118-9
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Alvin Witherspoon appealed his conviction and life sentence for second degree robbery. Because the robbery conviction was his third "most serious offense," he was sentenced to life in prison without the…
Date: July 17, 2014
Docket Number: 88559-1
Justia Opinion Summary: "TC" took a loaded gun from the home where his mother lived with her boyfriend, Douglas Bauer. The gun belonged to Bauer. TC brought that loaded gun to school in his backpack a few days after he stole it. The gun…
Date: July 17, 2014
Docket Number: 89303-9
Justia Opinion Summary: FutureSelect invested nearly $200 million in the Rye Funds, which pooled and fed money into Bernard Madoff's fraudulent securities investment scheme. The investments were lost when Madoff's fraud collapsed. FutureSelect…
Date: July 17, 2014
Docket Number: 89364-1
Justia Opinion Summary: Miguel Angel Villanueva-Gonzalez was convicted of second degree assault and fourth degree assault for attacking his girl friend. On appeal, he contended that his actions constituted one assault, and therefore two…
Date: July 10, 2014
Docket Number: 88045-0
Justia Opinion Summary: The estate of Etsuko Futagi Toland appealed a Court of Appeals decision upholding summary judgment that denied registration of a Japanese divorce decree awarding Etsuko Toland a monetary award against her former husband,…
Date: July 10, 2014
Docket Number: 89253-9
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented to the Supreme Court centered on the permissible scope of these protective frisks. An officer stopped Tanner Russell for violating several minor traffic laws. The officer recognized Russell…
Date: July 3, 2014
Docket Number: 88513-3
Justia Opinion Summary: The Certified Professional Guardianship Board (Board) has petitioned the Supreme Court to suspend guardian Lori Petersen for actions stemming from her guardianship of D.S. and J.S. Petersen has been a certified…
Date: July 3, 2014
Docket Number: 88673-3
Justia Opinion Summary: Expedia (and several other hotel booking websites, collectively, "Petitioners") has been subject to approximately 80 underlying lawsuits by states, counties, and municipalities (collectively, taxing authorities) for…
Date: July 3, 2014
Docket Number: 89235-1
Justia Opinion Summary: William France was convicted of five counts of felony harassment and one count of witness intimidation for making multiple harassing calls to his former attorneys. The jury was instructed consistent with the pattern jury…
Date: June 26, 2014
Docket Number: 88270-3
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, two Fare Enforcement Officers entered a train car at the Rainier Beach station and instructed all passengers to present proof of fare. When FEO Willet asked fifteen-year-old K.L.B. and his two companions to…
Date: June 26, 2014
Docket Number: 88853-1
Justia Opinion Summary: Jeanne Lewis purchased a condominium with a $277,000 loan from Bank of America. The condominium association recorded its declaration in 2006. Bank of America recorded its deed of trust in 2007. Lewis defaulted on her…
Date: June 19, 2014
Docket Number: 88021-2
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner David Brown appealed a Court of Appeals holding that venue for this sexual harassment suit was proper in Clark County. Respondents Robin Eubanks and Erin Gray alleged Brown engaged in sexual harassment against…
Date: June 19, 2014
Docket Number: 88307-6
Justia Opinion Summary: Christiana Anaya suffered from uncontrolled diabetes, which left her susceptible to serious infections. She went to the Toppenish Community Hospital with a urinary tract infection. Blood test results revealed Ms. Anaya…
Date: June 12, 2014
Docket Number: 87271-6
Justia Opinion Summary: KOMO-TV news reporter Tracv Vedder made three unsuccessful public records requests to the Seattle Police Department (SPD) relating to "dash-cam" videos taken by SPD officers. The Supreme Court concluded that two of the…
Date: June 12, 2014
Docket Number: 88111-1
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented to the Supreme Court centered on the proper assignment of the burden of proof at a pretrial competency hearing following treatment designed to restore competency. The trial court placed the…
Date: June 12, 2014
Docket Number: 88772-1
Justia Opinion Summary: Robert Campbell quit his job as a school teacher in anticipation of accompanying his wife to Finland on her Fulbright grant. Campbell applied for unemployment benefits for the months between his resignation in June 2010…
Date: June 12, 2014
Docket Number: 89060-9
Justia Opinion Summary: After an alternate was substituted for a juror, the trial court told the reconstituted jury that the remaining original jurors should bring the alternate "up to speed" as to what had already occurred and deliberate from…
Date: May 22, 2014
Docket Number: 88062-0
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants James Kumar, Ranveer Singh, Asegedew Gefe, and Abbas Kosymov brought a class action lawsuit against their employer, Gate Gourmet Inc., alleging two common law torts and two violations of Washington's Law…
Date: May 15, 2014
Docket Number: 85410-6
Justia Opinion Summary: Erick Jordan appealed the Court of Appeals' decision affirming his convictions and sentence for second degree murder with a firearm enhancement and first degree unlawful possession of a firearm. At issue was whether…
Date: May 15, 2014
Docket Number: 89134-6
Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose out of an incident of domestic violence committed by petitioner Edward Olsen against the mother of his children, Bonnie Devenny. Olsen broke into Devenny's house, poured gasoline on her while she was…
Date: May 8, 2014
Docket Number: 86234-6
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, Clinton Morgan was awaiting a civil commitment trial to determine if he was likely to engage in predatory acts of sexual violence if not confined to a secure facility. Defense counsel became concerned that…
Date: May 8, 2014
Docket Number: 86711-9
Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose from the legal defense of Maribel Gomez against charges of manslaughter and homicide by abuse for the death of her son. She argued she received ineffective assistance of counsel under the Sixth Amendment…
Date: May 8, 2014
Docket Number: 87253-8
Justia Opinion Summary: The trial court excluded defendant Andre Franklin's proffered evidence that someone else committed the cyberstalking-related crimes with which he was charged. The Supreme Court reversed: "the United States Constitution…
Date: May 8, 2014
Docket Number: 87445-0
Justia Opinion Summary: AllianceOne Receivables Management Inc. instituted a collections action against William Carl Lewis Jr. and then voluntarily dismissed it. Lewis claimed he was entitled to attorney fees as the "prevailing party" under RCW…
Date: May 8, 2014
Docket Number: 87904-4
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented to the Supreme Court was whether Samuel Piatnitsky unequivocally invoked his right to remain silent when he told police investigating a murder that, "I don't want to talk right now" but that…
Date: May 8, 2014
Docket Number: 88437-4
Justia Opinion Summary: Jennifer Holmes and James Lindsay entered the home of Laurence Wilkey, Holmes's former boyfriend. They tied him up, beat him, and took a number of items from his home. The State charged Holmes and Lindsay with first…
Date: May 8, 2014
Docket Number: 88577-0
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Cesar Trochez-Jimenez appealed his conviction for murder in the second degree, arguing the statements he made during custodial interrogation should have been suppressed because they were taken in violation of…
Date: May 1, 2014
Docket Number: 88683-1
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent-cross-petitioner J.C. Johnson was convicted of five crimes related to several days of ongoing domestic violence against his wife. A jury convicted Johnson for holding his wife “J.J.” under his control,…
Date: April 17, 2014
Docket Number: 201,017-2
Date: April 17, 2014
Docket Number: 86870-1
Justia Opinion Summary: Chiwawa Communities Association appealed the trial court's grant of summary judgment to owners of homes in the Chiwawa River Pines community. Respondents Ross and Cindy Wilkinson asked the trial court to invalidate a…
Date: April 17, 2014
Docket Number: 89147-8
Justia Opinion Summary: While petitioner Mario Medina was awaiting retrial on charges of second degree murder, he was ordered to participate in two King County Community Center for Alternative Programs (CCAP): "CCAP Enhanced" and "CCAP Basic."…
Date: April 10, 2014
Docket Number: 88405-6
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue before the Supreme Court in this case centered on whether the "vested rights doctrine" applied to permit applications filed under plans and regulations that were later found to be noncompliant with the State…
Date: April 10, 2014
Docket Number: 88945-7
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented for the Supreme Court's review in this case was whether Ronald Mendes was "compelled" to waive his constitutional right not to testify as a witness in his own criminal case after the trial…
Date: April 10, 2014
Docket Number: 89342-0
Justia Opinion Summary: Robert Kinnaman pleaded guilty to attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle. He also agreed to a special finding that supported a sentence enhancement. At sentencing Kinnaman moved to withdraw his agreement to the…
Date: April 3, 2014
Docket Number: 86822-1
Justia Opinion Summary: In this class action case, a jury found that the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) violated the implied duty of good faith and fair dealing in its contracts with individual providers who live with the DSHS…
Date: April 3, 2014
Docket Number: 88663-6
Justia Opinion Summary: Richard Sweat received an exceptional sentence pursuant to RCW 9.94A.535(3)(h)(i) as part of a domestic violence conviction. He believed the trial court erred and argued that the catchall definition of "victim" in RCW…
Date: March 27, 2014
Docket Number: 88140-5
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Pamela Deskins challenged the sentence she received after a jury found her guilty of a misdemeanor violation of the cruelty to animals statute. On appeal to the Supreme Court, she argued: (1) the trial court…
Date: March 27, 2014
Docket Number: 88905-8
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent Jeramie Owens and a friend visited a car dealership in Mount Vernon after seeing a 1967 Volkswagen (VW) Beetle with a high performance engine, roof rack and surfboard on top. They took the car on a test ride…
Date: March 20, 2014
Docket Number: 84753-3
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1993 Petitioner Garth Snively pled guilty to a single count of indecent liberties and two counts of first degree child molestation. Relying on the plea agreement, the trial court imposed two years of community…
Date: March 20, 2014
Docket Number: 87518-9
Justia Opinion Summary: Robert Lee Yates Jr. agreed to plead guilty to thirteen counts of aggravated first degree murder and one count of attempted first degree murder in exchange for a 408-year prison sentence. Yates sought to withdraw those…
Date: March 20, 2014
Docket Number: 88080-8
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was whether ERISA preempted claims made under two Washington state laws designed to ensure that workers on public projects are paid for their work: chapters 39.08 and 60.28 RCW. When the Washington…
Date: March 13, 2014
Docket Number: 87472-7
Justia Opinion Summary: Timothy Dobbs engaged in a campaign of threats, harassment, and intimidation against his ex-girlfriend, C.R., that included a drive-by shooting at her home and warnings that she would "'get it"' for calling the police…
Date: February 27, 2014
Docket Number: 87663-1
Justia Opinion Summary: A police detective read text messages on a cell phone police seized from Daniel Lee, who had been arrested for possession of heroin. Among other things, the detective read an incoming text message from Shawn Hinton,…
Date: February 27, 2014
Docket Number: 87669-0
Justia Opinion Summary: A police detective spent five to ten minutes looking at a cell phone taken from Daniel Lee incident to his arrest for possession of heroin. The officer saw several text messages from appellant Jonathan Roden, responded…
Date: February 27, 2014
Docket Number: 88208-8
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue before the Supreme Court in this case was whether the Department of Ecology erred in determining that no environmental impact statement (EIS) was necessary for a proposed energy cogeneration project, and failed…
Date: February 27, 2014
Docket Number: 88267-3
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Abraham MacDicken was arrested carrying a laptop bag and pushing a rolling duffel bag. He was suspected of armed robbery. The officers moved the bags a car's length away to search them. MacDicken argued that…
Date: February 13, 2014
Docket Number: 88020-4
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Phillip Garcia Jr. appealed his convictions for kidnapping in the first degree, burglary in the second degree, and criminal trespass in the first degree. He argued that that the evidence was insufficient to…
Date: February 13, 2014
Docket Number: 88207-0
Justia Opinion Summary: The State prosecuted petitioner David Gower for sex crimes against his 17-year-old stepdaughter S.E.H. In accordance with ER 404(b) and RCW 10.58.090, the State offered evidence that petitioner had committed other…
Date: February 6, 2014
Docket Number: 88083-2
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented to the Supreme Court was whether the trial court erred in admitting evidence of a secretly recorded conversation between defendant William Kipp and his brother-in-law in violation of…
Date: February 6, 2014
Docket Number: 88165-1
Justia Opinion Summary: Homer Gibson applied to Kittitas County for a conditional use permit (CUP) that would allow him to conduct rock crushing and other gravel and cement production related activities on his agricultural-zoned property.…
Date: February 6, 2014
Docket Number: 88215-1
Justia Opinion Summary: Desperate to save his home from foreclosure, Lawrence Jametsky sought help securing a loan. Through a series of connections, he was introduced to mortgage broker Matthew Flynn. Flynn made Jametsky an offer for a $100,000…
Date: February 6, 2014
Docket Number: 88218-5
Justia Opinion Summary: The certified questions in this case centered on whether, the exemption of nonprofit religious organizations from the definition of "employer" under Washington's Law Against Discrimination (WLAD), violates article I,…
Date: February 6, 2014
Docket Number: 88422-6
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the issue before the Supreme Court was whether a conviction must be vacated even if it were shown that eavesdropping (an "odious practice" when done between an attorney and her client), did not result in…
Date: January 30, 2014
Docket Number: 85583-8
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue before the Supreme Court in this case was the state recreational use statute. Susan Camicia was injured when she was thrown from her bicycle after colliding with a wooden post on a portion of an Interstate I-90…
Date: January 23, 2014
Docket Number: 86001-7
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Daniel Stockwell sought to withdraw his guilty plea to a 1986 charge of first-degree statutory rape. Petitioner's plea statement and judgment and sentence misstated the statutory maximum sentence. The Supreme…
Date: January 23, 2014
Docket Number: 86585-0
Justia Opinion Summary: Jonathan Lee Gentry was convicted for the 1991 aggravated first degree murder of 12-year-old Cassie Holden and sentenced to death by a jury. One of the issues he raised on appeal was a claim that the decision to pursue a…
Date: January 23, 2014
Docket Number: 87811-1
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue before the Supreme Court in this case centered on "Loudon v. Mhyre," (756 P.2d 138 (1988)), and whether it applied to a plaintiff's nonparty, treating physician when such physician is employed by a defendant.…
Date: January 16, 2014
Docket Number: 87207-4
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Jaryd Schroeder sought treatment from the respondents, Dr. Steven Weighall and Columbia Basin Imaging. Schroeder was nine years old at the time and suffered from headaches, nausea, dizziness, weakness in his…
Date: January 9, 2014
Docket Number: 86885-9
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Stephen Johnson was arrested and convicted for driving on a suspended license (in the third degree). His license had been suspended for failing to pay a traffic fine. Johnson appealed his DWLS 3rd conviction,…
Date: January 2, 2014
Docket Number: 84045-8
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Sione Lui was charged with second degree murder. This case presented the issue of when the confrontation clause requires testimony from laboratory analysts who conduct tests on evidence. DNA test results were…
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