Today's arguments, May 6, 2010
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in three cases today.
In the morning session, starting at 9:00 a.m.:
In re Richard Dale Shepard, No. 200,720-1. Was Shepard appropriately suspended from the practice of law for two years after violating various Rules of Professional Conduct?
State v. Doughty, No. 82852-1 (briefs). A police officer observed Walter Doughty drive up to a drug house at 3:20 a.m., stop for two minutes, and leave. The officer stopped Doughty, discovered that he was driving with a suspended license, and upon searching him found that he had, indeed, bought drugs. Doughty claims that the officer lacked reasonable suspicion to stop him. The issue in this case is whether Doughty's actions created reasonable suspicion for the officer to conduct a Terry stop. Doughty was convicted in Spokane County Superior Court and the Court of Appeals upheld his conviction.
In the afternoon session, starting at 1:30 p.m.:
In re Hawkins, No. 82907-1 (briefs). The issue here is whether RCW 71.90 authorizes pretrial polygraph tests. The state filed a petition to commit Jake Hawkins, who was reaching the end of his sentence for rape, as a sexually violent predator. Pursuant to RCW 71.90, the trial court ordered Hawkins to submit to a sexual history polygraph test prior to the hearing. Hawkins appealed the order, claiming that RCW 71.90 does not authorize pretrial polygraph tests. The court of appeals interpreted RCW 71.90 to allow such tests, and thus affirmed the order.
