Facts: The respondent state of Washington petitioned the Superior Court for Lewis County to commit petitioner Jake Hawkins as a sexually violent predator. Prior to Hawkins’ hearing, the Department of Health and Social Services requested permission from the trial court to compel Hawkins to submit to a polygraph examination probing his sexual history, a request that was granted. Hawkins appealed the trial court’s order, asserting that Washington Revised Code §71.09.040(4), which authorizes pretrial evaluations of alleged sexually violent predators, does not permit the state to compel submission to a polygraph examination. The Washington Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s order. Hawkins appealed this decision to the Supreme Court of Washington.

Question(s): May the pretrial evaluation authorized by §71.09.040(4) include a compulsory polygraph examination?

Conclusion: Justice Owens’ opinion for the Court reversed the trial court’s order, holding that the unreliability and invasiveness of polygraph tests and the constitutional problems their use as evidence presents creates a strong presumption against them that can only be rebutted by specific statutory language authorizing their use. Thus, as §71.09.040(4) contains no such language, the Court vacated the order compelling Hawkins to submit to a polygraph test and remanded the case.

Docket No. 82907-1 (from Court of Appeals Division II Case No. 36492-1)

Petitioner: Jake Hawkins

(Counsel: Jodi R. Backlund and Manek R. Mistry)

Respondent: State of Washington

(Counsel: Joshua Choate and Brooke Elizabeth Burbank)

Briefs:

Argument: Thursday, May 6, 2010 1:30pm

[Source: TVW, http://tvw.org]

Decided: Thursday, September 9th, 2010

Prevailing Party: Jake Hawkins (Petitioner)

Vote: 6-3

Citation: Pending

Court: Madsen1 Court (2010-)

Madsen

Johnson

Alexander

Sanders

Chambers

Owens
(Majority)

Fairhurst

Johnson

Stephens
(Dissent)