This Week's Opinion: Witness tampering
State v. Hall, No. 82558-1. In this week's only opinion, the Court unanimously decides that the defendant's multiple telephone calls trying to influence a witness constituted a single count of witness tampering.
In 2007, Isiah Hall pointed a gun at two people and threatened to kill them. While awaiting trial, Hall placed over 1,200 telephone calls to the woman who was his girlfriend at the time of the assaults and who would be a government witness at his trial. He tried to convince her either not to testify or to lie to the court. In addition to his other crimes, Hall was convicted of three counts of witness tampering. He challenges that his conduct amounted to a single unit--not three--of witness tampering.
The Court today agrees with Hall and remands the case for resentencing.
[T]he plain language of the statute reveals that the legislature intended to criminalize inducing 'a' witness not to testify or to testify falsely. We hold, under the facts of this case, Hall committed one crime of witness tampering, not three. ... We do not reach whether or when additional units of prosecution, consistent with this opinion, may be implicated if additional attempts to induce are interrupted by a substantial period of time, employ new and different methods of communications, involve intermediaries, or other facts that may demonstrate a different course of conduct.
