Docket No. 78888-0  Facts:  Petitioner Lawrence Foxhoven was convicted of malicious mischief in the Superior Court for Whatcom County after etching graffiti on the windows of several businesses.  Foxhoven appealed his conviction, asserting that the trial court’s admission of evidence of his prior criminal history of graffiti violated Washington Rule of Evidence 404(b), which excludes evidence of prior bad acts when that evidence is used for the purpose of proving conformity with those acts on a different occasion.  The Washington Court of Appeals affirmed Foxhoven’s conviction. Continue reading →

Docket No. 79978-4  Facts:  After petitioner Brenda King and respondent Michael King filed for divorce, Michael King moved to be named the primary residential parent for their three children.  At the subsequent custody hearing, Michael King was represented by counsel while Brenda King appeared pro se due to her indigency.  The trial court awarded Michael King primary residential care of the children and decision-making authority.  Brenda King subsequently moved for a new hearing and requested that counsel be appointed at public expense to represent her.  The trial court denied the motion, ruling that it lacked authority to appoint counsel to represent Brenda King insofar as the legislature has not authorized funding for representation for indigent parties in child custody hearings. Continue reading →

Docket No. 80006-5  Facts: In response to the petitioner Seattle Housing Authority’s issuing of Rule #42, which prohibits signs, flyers, placards, advertisements, and similar materials from the exteriors of unit doors in public housing, the respondent Resident Action Council sought a declaratory judgment that Rule #42 violates the 1^st Amendment to the United States Constitution. Continue reading →