Tagged: Washington Supreme Court

OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Washington state Supreme Court has reversed the conviction and death sentence of Darold Stenson and called for a new trial in his double murder case.

On an 8-1 ruling Thursday, the high court ruled that Stenson's rights were violated because the state "wrongfully suppressed" from the defense photographs that raised questions about mishandling of evidence as well as an FBI file.

Stenson was sentenced to death in 1994 for the 1993 slaying of his wife, Denise, and a business partner, Frank Hoerner, at Stenson's Clallam County exotic bird farm.

The Washington Supreme Court says voters do not have the right to vote on the use of red light cameras for traffic enforcement.  In a 5 to 4 ruling on a case involved a proposition on the ballot in the city of Mukilteo, the justices held that:

“Because the legislature expressly granted authority to the governing body of the city of Mukilteo to enact ordinances on the use of automated traffic safety cameras, the subject of Proposition 1 is not within the initiative power.”

In November 2010, Mukilteo voters approved Proposition 1 by a 70 percent margin. The Proposition had the backing of anti-tax activist Tim Eyman.

The city of Seattle is asking the Washington Supreme Court to determine whether municipalities can ban people from carrying guns in local parks and community centers where children gather.

Seattle instituted its ban in 2009. Several individuals with concealed weapons permits challenged the ban, and a King County Superior Court judge struck down the ban as preempted by state law governing firearms regulation.

If you’ve witnessed a crime, you’ll swear you can accurately identify the person who did it. But, there’s a good chance you’re wrong, especially if that person is of a different race. Still, jurors believe eyewitness accounts.

And, in Washington state, the law doesn't allow judges to tell juries about the problems associated with cross-racial eyewitness identification. One Court of Appeals judge says that's wrong.

The Washington Supreme Court has dealt a blow to a dozen school districts across the state that sought more money for special education.  Today, the court said the districts did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the state underfunds the programs, a violation of its constitution.