Criminal Law

In an important new criminal law decision, The Court of Appeals of Washington reversed a conviction in a vehicular homicide case in State v. Imokawa. The court held that the jury instructions did not make it reasonably clear that the state had to disprove alternate...

The Washington State Supreme Court recently filed an important criminal law decision (decided 6-3) which upheld the conviction of an autistic 17 year old who sent an unwanted "selfie" photo of his genitalia to a woman he was apparently trying to impress. The court was...

The Washington Supreme Court recently issued an important criminal law decision which will free a man who has been in prison since 2006, based on the  "bedrock" constitutional principle of double...

The Washington Supreme Court recently issued a decision in the area of criminal law which tried to clarify when prosecutors can refile charges after a jury has reached a verdict on a lesser included offense. State v. Glasmann, (May 7, 2015)The defendant was on trial...

The Washington Supreme Court  decided State v. W.R. on October 30, 2014 and clarified the burden of proof in rape cases. The juvenile defendant  (W.R.) was charged with second degree rape. In a bench trial, since jury trials are not allowed in juvenile  court under...