Washington’s privacy act generally prohibits recordings of communications obtained without consent of all parties from being admitted as evidence at trial. RCW 9.73.030. In some circumstances, however, they may be admissible. A law enforcement officer can intercept, record, or disclose a conversation with the consent of one party and authorization of a judge. The judge must approve the application for authorization if there is probable cause the other party committed, is committing, or is about to commit a felony. RCW 9.73.090(2). The requirements for the application are set forth in RCW 9.73.130, and if the application is not in compliance with those requirements, the order is unlawful and the recording cannot be admitted into evidence. A defendant recently challenged admission of a video of him and his brothers discussing the crime.
According to the appeals court’s unpublished opinion, five young men in masks and dark clothes killed two people and shot three others in an encampment for people without housing. One of the victims identified the person who shot her as a man called “Juice.”
A man called “Lucky” contacted the police the following day and said his 17-year-old nephew, the defendant, had admitted to the shooting. Lucky and a relative went to the police department for an interview. They told the detective the defendant and his brothers owned three guns. Lucky agreed to try to record a conversation with the defendant.