Docket No. 78452-3  Facts:  Petitioner Ismael Armendariz was convicted of third degree assault and violating a no contact order in the Superior Court for King County and sentenced to five months in jail to be followed by one year of community custody.  The trial court also ordered that Armendariz have no contact with the victim for five years, the statutory maximum term for third degree assault.  Armendariz appealed the no contact order, asserting that the trial court lacked authority under Washington Revised Code §9.94A.505(8), which authorizes courts to impose crime-related prohibitions and affirmative conditions, to impose a no contact order effective for the statutory maximum term for his third degree assault conviction. Continue reading →

Docket No. 79371-9  Facts:  Petitioner Michael Boyd was charged with possession of child pornography in the Superior Court for Pierce County.  Boyd’s computer, which allegedly contains tens of thousands of images of child pornography, was seized as evidence.  Prior to trial, Boyd moved to compel the state of Washington to provide him with a copy of the computer’s hard drive to enable independent testing.  The trial court denied the motion, ruling that Boyd only has a right to reasonable access and entering an order that Boyd’s attorney be granted limited access to a copy of the hard drive in a state facility. Continue reading →

Docket No. 75800-0  Facts: Petitioner Ronald Hall was convicted of assault in the Superior Court for Pierce County and sentenced to an exceptional sentence on the basis of the trial court’s finding that the aggravating circumstances of deliberate cruelty and multiple injuries were present. Continue reading →

Docket No. 74964-7  Synopsis: Is imposing a firearm sentence enhancement based on a deadly weapon finding subject to harmless error analysis under Washington law, and if so, was the error in this case harmless? Continue reading →