Facts: Petitioner Nathaniel Ish was convicted of murder in the Superior Court for Pierce County after a trial in which David Otterson, Ish’s former cellmate, offered testimony regarding Ish’s mental state at the time of the murder. Ish subsequently appealed his conviction, asserting that the prosecution had improperly vouched for Otterson’s credibility by making reference to the terms of the plea agreement Otterson had reached in which he agreed to testify truthfully in exchange for the reduction of a robbery charge that had been filed against him. The Washington Court of Appeals affirmed Ish’s conviction. Ish appealed this decision to the Supreme Court of Washington.

Question(s): Did the trial court err by allowing the prosecution to make reference to Otterson’s agreement to testify truthfully?

If so, was the error harmless?

Conclusion: Justice Chambers’ opinion for the Court ruled that the trial court had erred in allowing the prosecution to make reference to the terms of Otterson’s plea agreement on direct examination and that such references may only be offered in response to the credibility of a witness being attacked on cross-examination. However, the Court also concluded that the error was harmless as ample other evidence had been presented tending to prove that Ish had the required mental state for the crime of second degree murder. Thus, the Court affirmed Ish’s conviction.

Docket No. 83308-7 (from Court of Appeals Division II Case No. 36562-6)

Petitioner: Nathaniel J. Ish

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

Respondent: State of Washington

(Counsel: Kathleen Proctor and Melody M. Crick)

Briefs:

Argument: Tuesday, June 29, 2010 2:30pm

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

Decided: Thursday, October 7th, 2010

Prevailing Party: State of Washington (Respondent)

Vote: 8-1

Citation: Pending

Court: Madsen1 Court (2010-2011)

Madsen

Johnson

Alexander

Sanders
(Dissent)

Chambers
(Majority)

Owens

Fairhurst

Johnson

Stephens
(Concurs)