On February 4, 2025, the Department of Education issued a “Dear Colleague” letter stating that it will enforce Title IX pursuant to the 2020 Title IX Rule instead of the 2024 Title IX Rule. “Dear Colleague” letters are used by the Department of Education and other agencies to provide guidance…
The Department of Labor and Industries (“L&I”) administers the Crime Victims Compensation Program. Generally, the court must order restitution in Washington criminal cases where the victim is entitled to benefits pursuant to the crime victims’ compensation act (“CVCA”) as set forth in chapter 7.68 RCW. If the court has not…
Washington civil protection order proceedings are sometimes related to family law issues. In a recent case, a mother appealed a court’s denial of a second protection order after her divorce. According to the appeals court’s unpublished opinion, the father had repeatedly assaulted the mother during her pregnancy with their child. …
Sentences for certain Washington criminal offenses may include community custody. The specific conditions of a defendant’s community custody depend on the offense for which the defendant was convicted. In some circumstances, certain community custody conditions are mandatory, some may be waived by the court, and others are discretionary. In a…
Pursuant to State v. Houston-Sconiers, a trial court must consider the mitigating qualities of a juvenile offender’s youth in sentencing a juvenile in a Washington criminal case. The court has discretion to impose a sentence below the standard range in juvenile cases. In a recent case, a juvenile defendant challenged…
A federal court in the Eastern District of Kentucky recently issued an order vacating the 2024 Title IX Final Rule. The court concluded the Department of Education (“Department”) exceeded its statutory authority with the Final Rule. According to the court’s opinion, the Department cited the case of Bostock v. Clayton…
A court may only impose a sentence above the standard range in a Washington criminal case if it finds substantial and compelling reasons that justify it. This finding must be based on specific aggravating circumstances that have been determined beyond a reasonable doubt by the jury. In drug trafficking cases,…
Property division can be complicated when the parties to a Washington divorce co-own property with a third party. In a recent case, a wife appealed a property division that did not consider the mortgage on the wife’s brother’s share of the property in the valuation. The husband petitioned for divorce…
Alleged victims of sexual misconduct are often allowed to proceed in their Title IX lawsuits under a pseudonym, but courts have recently been split on whether to allow accused students filing Title IX lawsuits based on the school’s investigatory or disciplinary processes to do the same. A federal court in…
Generally, a Washington criminal law must be sufficiently specific to notify an ordinary person of what conduct it prohibits and provide ascertainable standards of guilt to prevent arbitrary enforcement. In a recent case, a defendant challenged the statute prohibiting being in actual physical control of a motor vehicle while under…