Recent Washington Court Decisions

State v. Lilyblad: The Washington Supreme Court held that under RCW 9.61.230, the telephone harassment statute, an intent to harass must be formed prior to the initiation of the telephone call for a guilty finding to ensue. The decision may be viewed at: http://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/791147.opn.pdf

State v. Quinliven: The Division Three Court of Appeals affirmed that a vehicle may not be searched pursuant to the search incident to arrest exception to the warrant requirement when the suspect has, prior to the arrest, exited his vehicle and locked the car. Immediately after the stop in this case, Mr. Quinliven exited his vehicle, locked it, and sat on the curb, refusing to give the deputy the keys to the vehicle. His subsequent conviction for possession of methamphetamine was overturned when the court found that this action barred Mr. Quinliven from having access to the passenger compartment of his vehicle and negated the need for a search of the truck incident to arrest. The decision may be viewed at: http://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/257967.opn.doc.pdf

State v. Dow: The Division Two Court of Appeals upheld, albeit with some reservations, the constitutionality of RCW 10.58.035, allowing a defendant's trustworthy statement to be admitted as substantive evidence when the alleged victim of a crime has died or is incompetent to testify at trial. The decision may be viewed at: http://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/34802-1.08.doc.pdf

State v. Bello/Lopez: The Division One Court of Appeals upheld a search incident to arrest of a CD case within a vehicle that had been in the immediate reach of the passenger prior to his arrest when the driver made no assertion that the case belonged to him, not the passenger, prior to the search. The decision may be viewed at: http://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/58463-4.pub.doc.pdf