Justia Washington Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The State charged Larry Hayes with one count of leading organized crime and one count of identity theft in the first degree, among several other charges. The State alleged that Hayes was involved in a complex identity theft scheme that used stolen credit card information, including information stolen from a hair salon's customer receipts, to manufacture false identification devices and credit cards. These in turn would be used to make purchases and rent vehicles, usually from out of state, with those rental vehicles sold for cash. The State also alleged that each count (except for a drug charge) was subject to the sentence aggravators for being a major economic offense. The issue this case presented for the Washington Supreme Court's review centered on whether a trial court may impose an exceptional sentence on a defendant under the major economic offense sentence aggravators found in RCW 9.94A.535(3)(d)(i) and (iii) when that defendant's conviction was based on accomplice liability. The Court agreed with the Court of Appeals's decision that the trial court improperly applied the sentence aggravators to Hayes. View "Washington v. Hayes" on Justia Law

WestNET was a multiagency, multijurisdictional drug task force formed by an "Interlocal Drug Task Force Agreement" executed in June 2009 among several Washington State municipalities and the federal Naval Criminal Investigation Service (NCIS). The Agreement at issue here explicitly provided that because WestNET "does and must operate confidentially and without public input," "[t]he parties do not intend to create through, this Agreement, a separate legal entity subject to suit." In 2010, petitioner John Worthington filed a public records request that WestNET disclose records related to a raid of his residence four years earlier, which he alleged was conducted by the WestNET drug task force. WestNET did not respond, and instead, the Kitsap County Sheriffs Office made some initial disclosures. The sheriffs office did not indicate why it responded instead of WestNET. Dissatisfied with the response, Worthington sued for relief under the Public Records Act, serving the complaint on the address shared by the Kitsap County Sheriffs Office and the Kitsap County Prosecutor's Office. However, the complaint named WestNET as the only defendant. Because the trial court granted the defendant's CR 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, the issue presented for the Supreme Court's review was a narrower procedural issue: can the parties to an inter local agreement establish, as a matter of law, that their own task forces do not exist for the purpose of the PRA? The Court held that the ICA did not provide the contributing agencies with such an unqualified power. In concluding that the terms of the agreement alone conclusively established WestNET's capacity for suit, the trial court deprived the plaintiff of an opportunity to present evidence in support of his argument that WestNET's actual operational structure subjects it to the PRA's purview. That approach is inconsistent with our general approach to PRA issues and the ICA itself. Accordingly, the Court reversed the Court of Appeals and remanded the case for further factual determination proceedings. View "Worthington v. WestNET" on Justia Law

Plaintiffs-retired justices Robert Utter and Faith Ireland sued the Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW), alleging that BIAW violated Washington's Fair Campaign Practices Act (FCPA), chapter 42.17 A RCW, in part by failing to register as a political committee during the 2007-2008 campaign season. The trial court granted BIAW' s motion for summary judgment and dismissed the case on the ground that there was no material factual dispute and BIAW was entitled to judgment as a matter of law, but it denied BIAW's request for attorney fees. The Court of Appeals ultimately affirmed, stating in dicta that there was an issue of fact as to whether BIAW met the statutory definition of a "political committee," but held only that the plaintiffs' case did not meet the procedural prerequisites to filing a citizen suit. The Court of Appeals also affirmed the trial court's denial of BIAW's request for attorney fees. Plaintiffs petitioned the Washington Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court reversed, holding that: (1) plaintiffs' suit was not procedurally barred under Washington's citizen suit provision; and (2) plaintiffs presented sufficient evidence to raise a genuine issue of material fact about whether BIAW met the statutory definition of a "political committee." View "Utter v. Bldg. Indus. Ass'n of Wash." on Justia Law

Odies Walker was convicted as an accomplice to first degree murder, first degree assault, first degree robbery, solicitation, and conspiracy. The issue this case presented for the Supreme Court's review centered on whether those convictions should have been reversed in light of a Power Point presentation the prosecuting attorney used during closing argument. That presentation repeatedly expressed the prosecutor's personal opinion on guilt (over 100 of its approximately 250 slides were headed with the words "DEFENDANT WALKER GUILTY OF PREMEDITATED MURDER," and one slide showed Walker's booking photograph altered with the words "GUILTY BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT," which were superimposed over his face in bold red letters). The prosecutor also appealed to passion and prejudice by juxtaposing photographs of the victim with photographs of Walker and his family, some altered with the addition of inflammatory captions and superimposed text. While the prosecutor was entitled to draw the jury's attention to admitted evidence, those slides, as presented, served no legitimate purpose. "Their prejudicial effect could not have been cured by a timely objection, and we cannot conclude with any confidence that Walker's convictions were the result of a fair trial." The Court reversed Walker's convictions and remanded for a new trial. View "Washington v. Walker" on Justia Law

In 2011, Michael Henne, a Yakima police officer, filed an employment-related lawsuit against his employer, the city of Yakima. Several other officers had filed complaints about Henne's behavior, resulting in internal investigations of Henne. Henne's lawsuit alleged that those other officers' complaints lodged against him formed a pattern of harassment and retaliation that amounted to a hostile workplace. He sued Yakima for negligent hiring, training, and supervision of its employees, which, he asserted, perpetuated a hostile work environment and entitled him to damages. Yakima responded to Henne's complaint not with an answer but with a motion to strike under RCW 4.24.525, the 2010 anti-SLAPP statute. Yakima's motion asserted that because Henne's claims were based on coworker complaints and the city's resulting internal investigations, a new, broader anti-SLAPP statute applied to those claims. In other words, Yakima claimed the protection of the anti-SLAPP suit law because it received controversial communications from others; Yakima made no communications of its own. The Supreme Court held that a governmental entity like Yakima cannot take advantage of the anti-SLAPP statutes at least where, as here, the challenged lawsuit is not based on the government's own communicative activity. The Court reversed the Court of Appeals' decision to dismiss as moot Yakima's appeal of the trial court's decision to deny Yakima's anti-SLAPP motion. Instead, the Court held that the case was ripe for review and reinstated the trial court's decision to deny Yakima's anti-SLAPP motion. View "Henne v. City of Yakima" on Justia Law

This consolidated appeal consisted of two criminal cases. In each case, the jury convicted the defendant and found that aggravating circumstances were present. At sentencing, the trial courts deviated from the standard sentencing range and imposed exceptional sentences. While both trial courts explained on the record their reasons for deviating from the standard range, neither court entered written findings as required by statute. Both sentences were affirmed by the Court of Appeals in unpublished opinions. The issue these cases presented for the Supreme Court's review was whether an on-the-record oral ruling could substitute for written findings when a trial court imposes an exceptional sentence. After review, the Supreme Court concluded that oral findings do not satisfy the requirements of the Sentencing Reform Act of 1981. The cases were remanded for entry of written findings of fact and conclusions of law. View "Washington v. Friedlund" on Justia Law

In 2009, Maurice Clemmons shot and killed four Lakewood police officers. Petitioner Darcus Allen drove Clemmons to and from the crime scene and was charged as an accomplice. The issue on appeal to the Supreme Court was whether the prosecuting attorney committed prejudicial misconduct by misstating the standard upon which the jury could convict an accomplice. In a divided decision, the Court of Appeals recognized that the statements were improper but ultimately held that they did not amount to prejudicial misconduct. The Supreme Court disagreed and reversed the Court of Appeals. The case was remanded for a new trial. View "Washington v. Allen" on Justia Law

A jury found defendant Joel Condon guilty of several offenses including aggravated first degree (premeditated) murder and first degree felony murder, stemming from his involvement in a home invasion robbery attempt. He argued on appeal that the evidence presented against him at trial was insufficient to support the jury's verdict, and that there were errors by the trial court in instructing the jury. The Court of Appeals found there was sufficient evidence of premeditation, but that it was error to deny Condon's request for an instruction on the lesser included crime. The Supreme Court affirmed the appellate court's judgment. View "Washington v. Condon" on Justia Law

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 Resource Company (collectively DNR). They sought monetary damages for the flooding of real property located in Lewis County. At issue was the distinction between venue and jurisdiction, in the context of the applicable statutory authority that actions "for any injuries to real property" "shall be commenced" in the county in which the property is located, RCW 4.12.010(1). Case law from the 1940s and 1950s held that RCW 4.12.010 was jurisdictional, so that an improperly commenced action must be dismissed if filed in a superior court outside the local county. More recently, the Washington Supreme Court interpreted similar (but not identical) statutes to prescribe only venue in light of article IV, section 6 of the Washington State Constitution, which grants universal original subject matter jurisdiction to the superior courts. In dicta in "Five Corners Family Farmers v. Washington," (268 P.3d 892 (2011)), the Court suggested that it might reconsider earlier precedent. By its opinion in this case, the Court reconsidered that earlier precedent, and held that RCW 4.12.010 related to venue, not jurisdiction. Accordingly, the Court reversed the trial court's holding in this case and remanded for further proceedings. View "Ralph v. Dep't of Natural Res." on Justia Law

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 court file and therefore be open to the public. The legislature has explicitly defined the contents of the official juvenile court file as "the petition or information, motions, memorandums, briefs, findings of the court, and court orders." Since the SSODA evaluation does not fit within any of these categories, the Supreme Court held that it was not a part of the official juvenile court file. Consequently, it was subject to the general rule that all juvenile records not in the official juvenile court file must be kept confidential. View "Washington v. A.G.S." on Justia Law