C. JOHNSON, J. 1 This case involves two issues, the first being whether defense counsel was ineffective in not requesting a lesser included assault instruction. The Court of Appeals reversed based on State v. Grier, 150 Wn.App. 619, 208 P.3d 1221 (2009), which we recently reversed. State v. Grier, 171 Wn.2d 17 , 246 P.3d 1260 (2011). 1 Based on our analysis in Grier, we reverse the Court of Appeals on the ineffectiveness claim. The second issue is whether, in this case, the...
STEPHENS, J. 1 This case involves the authority of the Department of Corrections (Department) to deduct funds from an inmate's trust account. Chad Alan Pierce, a Washington State inmate, filed a personal restraint petition challenging the Department's collection of costs of incarceration and legal financial obligations (LFOs) from his account. He asserts that his judgment and sentence prohibits the Department from making such deductions. We disagree and hold that the Department has statutory...
OWENS, J. 1 By statute, the legislature requires a permit to withdraw public groundwater or to construct a well to do so. RCW 90.44.050. The statute also provides exemptions from the permit requirement for certain uses. This case concerns the scope of one of those exemptions. We conclude that, under the plain language of the statute, withdrawals of groundwater for stock-watering purposes are not limited to any particular quantity by RCW 90.44.050. Accordingly, we affirm the superior court's...
STEPHENS, J. 1 In this class action against Farmers Insurance Company of Washington and Farmers Insurance Exchange (Farmers), we must decide if a contract between an auto insurer and its insured provides coverage for the diminished value of a postaccident, repaired car. This case also requires us to consider whether the class here was properly certified. We affirm the Court of Appeals and hold that the policy language at issue allows recovery for diminution in value and that the class was...
WIGGINS, J. 1 In 2007, five developers filed applications with the city of Yelm (City) for preliminary plat approval of proposed subdivisions. The only developer still party to this action, TTPH 3-8 LLC (Tahoma Terra), sought approval to develop 32 acres into residential lots. After a hearing examiner granted Tahoma Terra preliminary plat approval, JZ Knight, a nearby property owner and senior water rights holder, appealed to the Yelm City Council (City Council), arguing the hearing examiner'...
ALEXANDER, J. 1 The primary issue presented by this case is whether the State of Washington has jurisdiction over members of Indian tribes who sell unstamped cigarettes without a license at a store that is located on trust allotment land that is outside the boundaries of an Indian reservation. We conclude that the State does possess jurisdiction in such cases, and, thus, we affirm the trial court's denial of the motion of the defendants herein to dismiss the charges against them. 2 In...
ALEXANDER, J. 1 We granted R.P.H.'s petition to review a decision of the Court of Appeals in which that court affirmed the King County Superior Court's denial of R.P.H.'s petition for restoration of his right to possess firearms. We reverse the Court of Appeals, concluding that R.P.H.'s conviction was the subject of a procedure equivalent to a certificate of rehabilitation. I 2 In 2000, 13-year-old R.P.H. pleaded guilty to one count of first degree child rape for sexually assaulting his...
WIGGINS, J. 1 James R. Hardman and his mother, Alice Hardman, certified professional guardians, are the court-appointed guardians of more than 20 Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) clients residing at the Fircrest School, a residential habilitation center (RHC) in the city of Shoreline. The Hardmans are compensated from their wards' assets for providing services such as administering each ward's property interests and working with the ward's health care providers. The Hardmans...
PER CURIAM. 1 Former Pierce County Superior Court Judge Michael Hecht was convicted of felony harassment and patronizing a prostitute. The trial court denied Hecht's motion for an order of indigency, and the Court of Appeals denied his motion for discretionary review of that order. Hecht now seeks discretionary review in this court. We grant review and remand to the trial court for further proceedings. 2 Hecht was convicted soon after he was elected to the Pierce County Superior Court...
MADSEN, C.J. 1 Steven Beadle appeals his convictions for child molestation in the first degree. At a pretrial child hearsay hearing, the alleged victim, four-year-old B.A., 1 had what appeared to be a serious emotional breakdown and refused to testify. The court found the child unavailable to testify at trial and admitted her out-of-court disclosures to family members, mental health providers, a child protective services worker, and a law enforcement officer, pursuant to RCW 9A.44.120. 2...
OWENS, J. 1 As part of the distribution of property following the dissolution of Kenneth Treiger and J'Amy Lyn Owens' marriage, a home belonging to Owens (the Maplewood property) was sold, and, pursuant to a trust agreement, the proceeds were deposited in a trust account. Bank of America NA (the Bank), which had obtained a writ of attachment on the Maplewood property, filed this declaratory judgment action to determine each party's rights to the proceeds. 2 There are two issues before us...
STEPHENS, J. 1 Helen Immelt sounded a car horn at length in front of a neighbor's house in the early morning hours. She was arrested for violating a Snohomish County noise ordinance that includes amongst its prohibited noise disturbances horn honking for a purpose other than public safety, or originating from an officially sanctioned parade or other public event. She challenges the horn ordinance as overbroad and in violation of free speech protections. We agree that the ordinance is...
STEPHENS, J. 1 Petitioner Gilberto Ibarra-Cisneros and his brother, Adrian Ibarra-Raya, were separately prosecuted on drug charges in November 2006. Both moved unsuccessfully to suppress evidence discovered as a result of the warrantless search of Ibarra-Raya's home. In particular, Ibarra-Cisneros argued to suppress the evidence against him as the fruit of the unlawful use of Ibarra-Raya's cell phone, which was seized during the search. The Court of Appeals determined that the search of...
OWENS, J. 1 Linda Mohr suffered a trauma-induced stroke and is now permanently disabled. She and her husband, Charles, claim that negligent treatment by her health care providers diminished her chances of avoiding or greatly minimizing her disability. In other words, they claim that negligence caused Mrs. Mohr a loss of the chance of a better outcome. In Herskovits v. Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, 99 Wn.2d 609 , 611, 614, 664 P.2d 474 (1983) (Dore, J., lead opinion), this...
OWENS, J. 1 Alberto Perez-Valdez challenges two evidentiary decisions made by a judge of the Walla Walla County Superior Court during a trial that resulted in his conviction for one count of second degree rape of a child and one count of third degree rape of a child. He also challenges the trial court's denial of his motions for a mistrial based on a statement made by a state witness relating to the credibility of the victims. We hold that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in...
WIGGINS, J. 1 A public school teacher or other certificated employee discharged by a school district may obtain review by a hearing officer and appeal an adverse decision of the hearing officer to superior court. But the legislature did not give school districts the right to appeal an adverse hearing officer decision. When a hearing officer decided in favor of petitioner David Vinson and against respondent Federal Way School District, the school district sought review of the decision by...
C. JOHNSON, J. This Public Records Act (PRA) case asks us to define the scope of discovery allowed in PRA-provoked lawsuits, what constitutes an adequate search for requested records, and whether a party may be prevailing when it possesses some responsive documents at the time suit is filed. We hold discovery in a PRA case is the same as in any other civil action and is therefore governed only by relevancy considerations, reversing the Court of Appeals' decision. We hereby adopt Freedom of...
FAIRHURST, J. 1 RCW 60.04.091(2) requires mechanics' liens to be "acknowledged pursuant to chapter 64.08 RCW"—that is, an authorized person must certify in writing that the signor executed the lien freely and voluntarily. RCW 64.08.050. RCW 60.04.091(2) also includes a sample claim of lien that the statute states "shall be sufficient" but that does not include language satisfying the acknowledgment requirement. Contractors Athletic Fields Inc. (AFI) and Hos Bros. Construction Inc. each filed...
STEPHENS, J. 1 John Gordon and Charles Bukovsky were each charged with second-degree murder in the beating death of Brian Lewis. The State also sought two aggravating sentencing factors: deliberate cruelty and particular vulnerability of the victim. The jury was instructed to determine whether the aggravators were present, but the instructions did not define "deliberate cruelty" or "particular vulnerability." The defendants did not object to the instructions on that basis. The jury found the...
STEPHENS, J. 1 In this original personal restraint petition, Demar Rhome argues that the state and federal constitutions require independent findings of fact that a defendant is competent to waive counsel and represent himself at trial. He also argues that the colloquy conducted by the trial court here was inadequate to secure a valid waiver of counsel. We disagree and dismiss his personal restraint petition. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY 2 In November of 2003, 17-year-old Lashonda Flynn...
