Docket No. 86602-3 (from Court of Appeals Division II Case No. 40521-1)
Synopsis: Whether an appropriation allocating a portion of motor vehicle fuel tax revenues to the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission constitutes a permissible “refund” of fuel tax revenues to off-highway vehicle users.
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State v. Sweany
Docket No. 86270-2 (from Court of Appeals Division III Case No. 28860-9)
Synopsis: Whether in a prosecution for first degree arson on the basis of fire damage to “property valued at ten thousand dollars or more with intent to collect insurance proceeds,” RCW 9A.48.020(1)(d), the term “valued at” means the fair market value of the property or the value of the insurance coverage of the property.
Synopsis: Whether in a prosecution for first degree arson on the basis of fire damage to “property valued at ten thousand dollars or more with intent to collect insurance proceeds,” RCW 9A.48.020(1)(d), the term “valued at” means the fair market value of the property or the value of the insurance coverage of the property.
State v. Rose
Docket No. 85791-1 (from Court of Appeals Division III Case No. 28403-4)
Synopsis: Whether for purposes of the crime of possession of stolen property consisting of an access device, an unactivated credit card received in a mail solicitation constitutes an “access device.”
Synopsis: Whether for purposes of the crime of possession of stolen property consisting of an access device, an unactivated credit card received in a mail solicitation constitutes an “access device.”
State v. Meneese
Docket No. 86203-6 (from Court of Appeals Division I Case No. 64699-1)
Synopsis: Whether a police officer assigned to a high school as a school resource officer was acting as a school official when he searched a student’s locked backpack without a warrant, making the search lawful under the school search exception to the warrant requirement.
Synopsis: Whether a police officer assigned to a high school as a school resource officer was acting as a school official when he searched a student’s locked backpack without a warrant, making the search lawful under the school search exception to the warrant requirement.
In re Bond Issuance of Greater Wenatchee Reg’l Events Ctr. v. City of Wenatchee and Taxpayer Representative
Docket No. 86552-3 (from Chelan Case No. 11-2-00737-0)
Synopsis: Whether the city of Wenatchees agreement to make loans to a public facilities district to cover shortfalls in the districts ability to make debt service payments on district-issued bonds is a debt of the city for purposes of the constitutional and statutory limit on municipal indebtedness, and if so, whether the amount of the debt is the total amount to be loaned over the lifetime of the agreement.
Synopsis: Whether the city of Wenatchees agreement to make loans to a public facilities district to cover shortfalls in the districts ability to make debt service payments on district-issued bonds is a debt of the city for purposes of the constitutional and statutory limit on municipal indebtedness, and if so, whether the amount of the debt is the total amount to be loaned over the lifetime of the agreement.
State v. Saenz
Docket No. 84949-8 (from Court of Appeals Division III Case No. 27683-0)
Synopsis: Whether, in attempting to prove the existence of a prior strike offense for persistent offender purposes, the State adequately established that the defendant, who was a juvenile when he committed the prior offense, validly waived juvenile court jurisdiction and consented to trial in adult court, qualifying the offense as a strike offense.
Synopsis: Whether, in attempting to prove the existence of a prior strike offense for persistent offender purposes, the State adequately established that the defendant, who was a juvenile when he committed the prior offense, validly waived juvenile court jurisdiction and consented to trial in adult court, qualifying the offense as a strike offense.
Knight v. Yelm
Docket No. 84831-9 (from Court of Appeals Division II Case No. 38581-3) Facts: Tahoma Terra filed an application with the respondent city of Yelm to develop a 32 acre parcel of land into residential lots. After the application was approved, petitioner J.Z. Knight, a nearby property owner who holds senior water rights, filed a Land Use Petition Act (Washington Revised Code §36.70C) petition in the Superior Court for Thurston County that asked the superior court to reverse the county’s decision. Knight asserted that she has an interest in obtaining water connections when she develops her undeveloped property and that her senior water rights would be directly and adversely affected by Tahoma Terra’s proposed development. The superior court granted the petition. Continue reading
Flight Options, L.L.C. v. Department of Revenue
Docket No. 84207-8 (from Court of Appeals Division II Case No. 39517-7) Facts: Petitioner Flight Options, L.L.C., a company which manages charter and fractional ownership programs for a fleet of private aircraft, petitioned the Superior Court for Thurston County for a declaratory judgment that the respondent Department of Revenue lacks the authority to assess property taxes on its aircraft given that they do not operate in the state of Washington pursuant to fixed routes and regular schedules. Continue reading
Washington v. Lormor
Docket No. 84319-8 (from Court of Appeals Division II Case No. 38549-0) Facts: Petitioner Dean Lormor was convicted of unlawful possession of a controlled substance in the Superior Court for Thurston County after a trial in which his daughter, who is confined to a wheelchair and requires a ventilator to breathe, was excluded from the courtroom on grounds that her presence would be potentially distracting to the jury. Lormor subsequently appealed his conviction, asserting that the exclusion of his daughter from the courtroom during his trial constituted a closure that violated both the 6th Amendment to the United States Constitution’s guarantee of a public trial and Article I §10 of the Washington State Constitution’s guarantee of the open administration of justice. Continue reading
In re personal restraint of Carrier
Docket No. 83377-0 Facts: Petitioner Harry Carrier was convicted of first degree child molestation, dealing in depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct and was sentenced, on the basis of a criminal history that included a prior conviction for indecent liberties, to life in prison without the possibility of parole under the Persistent Offender Accountability Act (Washington Revised Code §9.94A). Carrier subsequently filed an untimely personal restraint petition in the Supreme Court of Washington that asserted that his sentence is invalid on its face insofar as his prior conviction for indecent liberties, which was dismissed in 1985 under Washington Revised Code §9.95.240 after he successfully completed probation, was improperly included in his criminal history. Continue reading