• Bank of America v. Owens, No. 84044-0
• State v. Gresham, No. 84148-9
• State v. Scherner, No. 84150-1
• In re Det. of Danforth, No. 84152-7
• Neighborhood Alliance of Spokane County v. County of Spokane, No. 84108-0
• Kaltreider v. Lake Chelan Cmty. Hosp., No. 84144-6
• Federal Way Sch. Dist. No. 210 v. Vinson, No. 84243-4
• State v. Grogan, No. 82609-9

State v. Gresham, No. 84148-9 and State v. Scherner, No. 84150-1 are consolidated to address whether RCW 10.58.090. Generally speaking, the state’s rules of evidence prohibit the use of evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts as proof of a defendant’s propensity to commit similar actions. Nevertheless, RCW 10.58.090 permits the admission of evidence of a defendant’s past sex offenses in a criminal sex offense action. Two criminal defendants have challenged the law as unconstitutional.

In re Det. of Danforth, No. 84152-7. The state filed petition seeking to civilly commit sex offender as a sexually violent predator. The offender argued his plea to law enforcement officials seeking help from reoffending did not constitute a recent overt act warranting commitment. The superior court denied the offender’s motion and the Court of Appeals affirmed the civil commitment.

Neighborhood Alliance of Spokane County v. County of Spokane, No. 84108-0. A nonprofit group request public records from Spokane County. The trial judge denied the group’s request for discovery and granted summary judgment to the county. On appeal, the Court of Appeals ruled that the county had violated the Public Records Act by failing to conduct a reasonably adequate search for responsive records, but that the organization’s request for discovery went far beyond the issue of whether a reasonably adequate search for documents had taken place.

Kaltreider v. Lake Chelan Cmty. Hosp., No. 84144-6. Elizabeth Kaltreider was a voluntary resident at Lake Chelan Community Hospital for inpatient treatment of alcohol dependency. During her stay she engaged in sexual acts with a nurse. Kaltreider sued the hospital and the nurse, claiming in part that the hospital breached its duty to protect her from sexual misconduct. The trial court ruled against her. The Court of Appeals held that Kaltreider was not a vulnerable adult and thus the hospital did not have a duty to protect her against the actions of a third party, and that the nurse’s actions with the patient were not foreseeable, and thus the hospital did not have a duty to protect the patient against actions of a third party.

Federal Way Sch. Dist. No. 210 v. Vinson, No. 84243-4. David Vinson, a teacher at Federal Way High School, was accused of verbally harassing a student. Vinson later admitted lying during the human resources investigation. The school district terminated Vinson, citing his behavior and the dishonesty during the course of the investigation. A hearing officer ruled in Vinson’s favor, and a superior court affirmed the decision, ordering the district to pay Vinson’s attorneys fees. The Court of Appeals held the teacher's conduct in lying during an official school district investigation of professional misconduct was sufficient cause for termination.

State v. Grogan, No. 82609-9. Review granted and remanded to the Court of Appeals for reconsideration in light of State v. Dow, No. 81243-8.