State v. Strine

Docket No. 87618-5 (from Spokane Case No. 09-1-02145-8)
Synopsis: Whether a second trial of a defendant on criminal charges violated double jeopardy principles when in the first trial the jury announced it had found the defendant not guilty but the court declared a mistrial after polling the jurors and finding they were not unanimous.

Department of Transportation v. James River Insurance

Docket No. 87644-4 (from Thurston Case No. 10-2-02005-2)
Synopsis: Whether binding arbitration provisions in “surplus line” liability insurance policies are unenforceable under RCW 48.18.200, which prohibits insurance contracts from depriving state courts of jurisdiction over actions against insurers, and under RCW 48.15.150(1), which requires actions against surplus line insurers to be brought in the superior court of the county where the cause of action arose.

State v. Louthan

Docket No. 85608-7 (from Court of Appeals Division II Case No. 38472-8)
Synopsis: Whether the defendant in a prosecution for unlawful possession of a controlled substance was unlawfully arrested without a warrant for violating a city ordinance criminalizing simple possession of drug paraphernalia because the ordinance conflicts with State law, and if not, whether the defendant’s automobile was unlawfully searched incident to his arrest.

Resident Action Council v. Seattle Housing Authority

Docket No. 87656-8 (from King Case No. 10-2-26188-5 SEA)
Synopsis: Whether the Seattle Housing Authority violated the Public Records Act when it disclosed previously redacted copies of public housing assistance tenant grievance decisions, and if so, whether the trial court properly ordered the Authority to create new records with fewer redactions, to provide them in electronic format, and to promulgate procedures relating to such record requests.