Docket No. 85949-3 (from Court of Appeals Division I Case No. 63518-2)
Synopsis: Whether the federal “economic realities” test for determining whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act applies to the Washington Minimum Wage Act, and if so, whether the trial court correctly articulated that test in its jury instructions.
Blog Archives
Washington v. Ford
Docket No. 83617-5 (from Court of Appeals Division II Case No. 37089-1) Facts: Following jury deliberations in respondent Tyrone Ford’s trial on two charges of third degree child rape in the Superior Court for Clark County, the jury initially returned a verdict of guilty on the second charge but left the verdict form for the first charge blank. After being instructed by the judge to enter a verdict, the jury returned to the jury room and subsequently found Ford guilty of the first charge as well. Continue reading
Washington v. Meneses
Docket No. 83172-6 (from Court of Appeals Division I Case No. 61118-6) Facts: Petitioner Andre Meneses was convicted of telephone harassment and witness intimidation in the Superior Court for King County after making a series of threatening telephone calls to his former girlfriend. Continue reading
Washington v. Harvill
Docket No. 82358-8 (from Court of Appeals Division II Case No. 35821-2) Facts: Petitioner Joshua Harvill was convicted of delivery of a controlled substance in the Superior Court for Cowlitz County following a trial in which the trial court refused to grant Harvill’s request to instruct the jury regarding an affirmative defense of duress, Continue reading
In re detention of Pouncy
Docket No. 81769-3 (from Court of Appeals Division I Case No. 59034-1) Facts: The petitioner state of Washington petitioned the Superior Court for King County to have respondent Curtis Pouncy committed as a sexually violent predator pursuant to Washington Revised Code §71.09, asserting that Pouncy suffered from a personality disorder that made him likely to commit predatory acts of sexual violence if not confined. Continue reading
Washington v. Thomas
Docket No. 80643-8 (from Court of Appeals Division II Case No. 34339-8) Facts: Petitioner Covell Thomas was convicted of murder, burglary, and unlawful possession of a firearm in the Superior Court for Pierce County and sentenced to death after the jury found four aggravating factors and insufficient mitigating factors. Continue reading
Washington v. Bennett
Docket No. 78377-2 (from Court of Appeals Division II Case No. 32896-8) Facts: Petitioner Bruce Bennett was convicted of first degree escape in the Superior Court for Clallam County. Bennett subsequently appealed his conviction, asserting that the instruction given to the jury regarding the burden of proof, which was first used in the case of Washington v. Castle, denied him due process insofar as it undermined the presumption of innocence. Continue reading
Washington v. Coleman
Docket No. 77706-3 (from Court of Appeals Division I Case No. 54171-4) Facts: Petitioner John Coleman was convicted of two counts of child molestation arising from his alleged molestation of two children over a period of three years. Coleman subsequently appealed his convictions, asserting that the trial court erred in failing to include a unanimity instruction in its instructions to the jury. The Washington Court of Appeals reversed one of Coleman’s convictions but affirmed the other, holding that as the state of Washington had not emphasized specific incidents of molestation involving one of the alleged victims, a unanimous verdict on a specific criminal act was not required to convict Coleman of molesting her. Continue reading
State v. Stevens
Docket No. 77112-0 Synopsis: Is a defendant charged with second degree child molestation entitled to a jury instruction on voluntary intoxication? Is a defendant charged with second degree child molestation entitled to instruct the jury on fourth degree assault as a lesser included offense? Continue reading
STATE v. CONAHAN
Docket No. 1394