Seattle Attorneys Blog

Washington Appeals Court Finds Requesting ID Not Improper Seizure

April 6, 2018 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

The Washington Constitution, like the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, protects individuals against unlawful searches and seizures. Evidence obtained through an unlawful search or seizure may be excluded. Washington drug crime attorneys know that whether evidence is excluded often turns on whether the encounter between the defendant and law enforcement constituted a seizure, as seen in a recent case.

The trial court entered findings of fact based on the undisputed facts. The police received an anonymous tip that a woman with an active arrest warrant was staying in a particular room at a hotel. The hotel clerk told them the room in question was registered to a different name. The clerk told them to trespass from the hotel anyone other than the registered guest in the room.

One of the officers recognized the defendant when she answered the door of the room. She was not the woman for whom they were looking. The defendant told the officers she was the only person in the room. The clerk came to the room and told the officers the defendant was not registered to the room and asked them to trespass her from the room. The officers then told the defendant to gather her things and leave. The officers came into the room to make sure that the woman for whom they were looking was not there and that the defendant did not get a weapon. One officer asked the defendant for her driver’s license so that he could enter her name in the log, indicating she had been trespassed from the hotel, and to check for any active warrants. The system showed she had a misdemeanor warrant. The officers arrested the defendant. She had already gathered her property from the room and asked if she could return it, but she was told she could not. She stated her wallet, phone, and identification were in the purse she had, but it was not her purse, and she did not know anything about any other items in it. The purse was searched incident to her arrest, and the police found a plastic baggie containing a black, tar-like substance wrapped in a goodwill receipt. The substance subsequently tested positive for heroin.

Washington Petitioner for Domestic Violence Protection Order Must Show Relationship

April 6, 2018 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

Many people think “domestic violence” is limited to people who are or have previously been married or in a romantic relationship. Under Washington law, however, domestic violence is defined to include incidents between family or household members. Sometimes, whether a Washington domestic violence protection order can properly be issued turns on the relationship between the parties, as seen in a recent case.

A woman petitioned for a domestic violence protection order against a man to whom she referred as her “uncle.” The man was seeking repayment of money he had lent the woman, and she alleged he made threats against her and her children.

The man’s attorney challenged whether a domestic violence order was applicable because the parties had never lived together and were not closely related. The woman had to explain her relationship to the man through an interpreter. She told the court her father had told her the man was the son of her grandmother’s first cousin. The court asked her if there was a blood relationship, and she responded, “possibly, yes.”

Washington Plaintiff Not a Business Invitee Despite Delivering Goods to Client

March 28, 2018 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

The duty of care a landowner owes to a person on his or her property depends on the person’s status as either an invitee, a licensee, or a trespasser. The highest standard of care is owed to an invitee. A business invitee is a person invited to come onto or remain on the property for purposes directly or indirectly related to his or her business dealings with the person in possession of the land. A licensee is a person who is allowed to enter or remain on the property because of the possessor’s consent. A licensee can be someone who is on the property for their own purposes or a social guest. Since the duty owed to a person is based on their status, a Washington premises liability case may turn on their status, as seen in a recent case.

The plaintiff worked as an aesthetician at a plastic surgery office. One of the defendants had been the plaintiff’s client for several years. The plaintiff arranged to visit the defendant at her home. After planning the visit, but before the visit occurred, the plaintiff offered to bring the defendant some scar cream.

The plaintiff stayed at the defendants’ home for about a half hour. While there, she met members of the family, took a tour of the home, and talked with the defendant. The defendant paid the plaintiff for the scar cream while she was there. As the plaintiff left, she opened the gate and stepped backwards onto the landing. She fell backwards.

Constructive Possession in Washington Drug Cases

March 21, 2018 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

In Washington, a person may be convicted of possession of a controlled substance if he or she has actual or constructive possession of the substance. A person has actual possession if he or she has physical custody of the substance. A person has constructive possession if he or she has dominion or control over the item. The dominion and control may be over the substance, or over the premises where it was located. Washington drug crime attorneys may challenge whether the defendant was in possession of the drugs, or even whether the substance in question was a controlled substance. In a recent case, the defendant challenged the evidence of possession and of the nature of the substance.

The police executed a warrant at a trailer. A man and his girlfriend were in the front of the trailer. The police officers found the defendant in a back bedroom with a female and took him into another room. According to the officers, they asked him where his “bulk amount of dope” was, and he gestured with his head toward the room where they found him and said they “might want to check back there.”

The officers found three lines of suspected methamphetamine on a table, two safes, mail addressed to the defendant at another address, knives, a shotgun and a box with shells, two glass pipes, small baggies, and a backpack containing another knife. They opened one safe with a key they found in a pair of pants. Inside the safe, they found a baggie containing 17.62 grams of what they believed to be heroin.

Washington Court Finds Procedural Change in Parenting Plan Is Not Improper Modification

March 7, 2018 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

Courts sometimes make mistakes in parenting plans. A court’s ability to modify a parenting plan is limited, but its ability to clarify an existing plan is broader. Washington child custody attorneys know that whether an order changing a parenting plan is considered a modification or a clarification may be the determining factor in whether the change is valid, as seen in a recent case.

The case involved a father with a history of mental health issues, marijuana use, and erratic behavior. This behavior included what the appeals court described as “obsessing” over his daughter being sexually abused. The trial court included in the parenting plan a provision that allowed the mother to temporarily suspend the father’s visitation right in the event he began acting erratically, or if there was “objective evidence of decompensation or elevated paranoia.” She could request that he seek a mental health evaluation. The father’s residential time was to resume when the doctor approved him to have overnight time with the child. The provision required the mother to file an affidavit/declaration within three business days of the incident.

The mother invoked this provision a week after the entry of the parenting plan. The father underwent a psychological examination, but the mother did not believe it was sufficient and did not allow visitation to resume. Continue reading

Washington Appeals Court Finds Pregnancy Admissible in Domestic Violence Case

March 7, 2018 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

Some evidence, though relevant, may be unfairly prejudicial. A court must balance the probative value of evidence against the risk of unfair prejudice. If the risk of unfair prejudice substantially outweighs its probative value, the evidence must be excluded. Washington domestic violence attorneys know that some facts about an alleged victim could be prejudicial to their client.

A Washington appeals court recently considered whether the trial court erred in allowing limited evidence of the alleged victim’s pregnancy when the defendant appealed his conviction of a misdemeanor violation of a court order with a special finding of domestic violence.

There was a domestic violence no-contact order prohibiting the defendant from contacting or coming within 500 feet of the mother of his child. The woman was pregnant at the time with another child that was believed to be the defendant’s.

No-Contact Orders in Washington Sentencing

February 28, 2018 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

A person has a fundamental right to parent his or her own natural children. When a court places a sentencing condition on a person that limits those fundamental rights, it must consider whether there are reasonable alternatives that will further the state’s interest. If there are no reasonable alternatives, the court must narrowly tailor the condition. Washington domestic violence attorneys handling these cases must understand the family law implications of any sentencing conditions imposed by the court. This issue recently arose in a case before the Washington Court of Appeals.

The couple had three children together. In 2015, there were no-contact orders in place keeping the husband from contacting the wife of the six-year-old daughter. Sheriff’s deputies believed the husband was at the wife’s residence. They did not receive a response when they first knocked on the door, but the wife ultimately answered and let them in.

One of the deputies found a locked door and heard noises from inside the room. He forced the door open and found men’s clothing and shoes. The window was open, but the deputies had observed it to be closed when they walked around the house before entering.

Washington Defense Summary Judgment Denied Despite No Evidence of Vehicle Damage

February 25, 2018 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

Injuries can result from even minor automobile accidents. Washington car accident attorneys know that defendants are likely to challenge causation in such cases, and they may even challenge whether a collision even occurred. Documentation of the accident and the injury is extremely important, as a recent Washington appeal case shows.

The plaintiff sued the defendant, alleging he was injured in an automobile accident. According to the plaintiff, the defendant’s vehicle crossed the center line, and the mirror of the defendant’s car struck the mirror of the plaintiff’s car.

The defendant moved for summary judgment, arguing there was no evidence the “alleged accident” caused the plaintiff’s injuries. She admitted her vehicle crossed the yellow line and “passed closely by” the plaintiff’s car, but she denied hitting the plaintiff’s mirror. She submitted a repair estimate from her insurer, stating there was “no damage” to her vehicle and including photographs taken by the insurance investigator.

Inherited Property Considered Separate Property in Washington Divorce

February 6, 2018 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

Property acquired during a marriage is presumed to be community property, but Washington property division attorneys know there are exceptions to that rule. Property that one spouse inherits or receives as a gift is presumed to be that spouse’s separate property. A Washington appeals court recently considered whether inherited property in another country became community property when the husband claimed to have paid taxes and bought out other heirs with community funds.

The couple married in 1985 and separated in 2014. The wife had inherited property in Peru that had been in her name since the 1990s. The husband argued he had built it up and bought out the other heirs. He said he had worked for one of the heirs to buy the property. He also argued that he paid $200 per year in property taxes.

The trial court found the property in Peru was the wife’s separate property by inheritance. The husband appealed, arguing the trial court had mischaracterized the property in Peru and therefore divided the property inequitably.

Driving on Neutral Area Between Ramp and Highway Lane is a Violation of Washington Law

February 6, 2018 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

Washington criminal defense attorneys know that the validity of a traffic stop can have a significant effect on a resulting criminal case. A finding that the traffic stop was improper can result in the exclusion of evidence found during the stop. One defendant sought to have evidence suppressed due to a stop she argued was improper in a recent case.

The defendant was pulled over after a trooper saw her vehicle cross over the “neutral area” between the entrance ramp and the highway. The “neutral area” is the paved triangular space between the ramp and the lane of the highway. The neutral area was marked by white lines on both sides. The defendant was arrested for driving on a suspended license and other misdemeanors.

The defendant moved to dismiss, arguing she was stopped without cause. The trial court denied her motion. The trial court found the defendant violated RCW 46.61.670 by “driving with wheels off roadway” when she merged across the neutral area. The defendant was ultimately convicted by a jury of several misdemeanors.