Today at the Court - June 9, 2009
Today the Court will hear four cases, two in the morning session and two in the afternoon. Public records are the big topic of the day, with two cases on the docket about the applicability of the Public Records Act to court records. (Docket, case briefs)
In the morning session, starting at 9:00 a.m., the Court will hear:
State v. Bobenhouse, No. 81413-9. This case is on appeal from Division Three Court of Appeals, and originated in Asotin County. It concerns whether a person can be charged as an accomplice to a crime when the principle actors in the crime are children, and thus legally incapable of committing a crime. Bobenhouse also objects to the jury's failure to specify which act in a sequence of acts was the basis for the charges against him.
Bobenhouse was convicted of three counts of first degree child rape and two counts of first degree incest for raping his son and forcing his son and daughter to commit sexual acts with each other while they were between the ages of 4 and 8. He is appealing his convictions on the grounds that the children were not capable of either criminal rape or incest, being close in age and under 8 years old, and so he cannot be liable as an accomplice. The Court of Appeals upheld his convictions, stating that his culpability is based on "forcing innocent people...to engage in conduct that would constitute a crime if [he] engaged in the same conduct."
In re S. Richard Hicks, No. 200,606-0. This case is an appeal of a recommendation by the Washington State Bar Association to discipline Attorney Richard Hicks with a two-year suspension for misconduct. The misconduct included making an "inaccurate and incomplete" statement to the Bar about his commingling of client funds. The questions before the Court are whether Hicks was ethically obligated to reveal his handling of the funds, and whether the two-year suspension levied by the Bar was excessive.
In the afternoon session, starting at 1:30 p.m., the Court will hear:
Morgan v. Federal Way, et al., No. 81556-9. This case arose when Judge Michael Morgan (Federal Way Municipal Court) filed a petition with the King County Superior Court to prevent the City of Federal Way from releasing an internal investigation report to The News Tribune. The issue before the court is whether such a report is exempt from the Public Records Act because it is attorney work product or protected by an attorney-client relationship.
The report was prepared by an attorney, Amy Stephson, hired by the city to investigate a complaint of a hostile work environment at the municipal court. The News Tribune requested a copy of the report under the Public Records Act, and Judge Morgan filed a petition to prevent its disclosure. He argued that it was protected by the work product and attorney-client privilege exemptions to the Act, and by a general "separation of powers" that prevents the Act from being applied to judicial documents. The Superior Court disagreed, finding that the Act was applicable because the report was commissioned by and in the possession of the City (a non-judicial entity), and that the report did not fall under any of the claimed exemptions.
Federal Way v. David Koenig, No. 82288-3. This case is a direct appeal from a King County Superior Court order finding that the Public Records Act does not apply to the Federal Way Municipal Court. The issue before the court is whether some or all court records are subject to the Public Records Act.
David Koenig filed a number of public records requests with the Federal Way Municipal Court, including records related to the resignation of Judge Colleen Hart. The city attorney asked for a ruling that the Municipal Court is not subject to the Public Records Act. The Superior Court granted the motion, relying on Nast v. Michels. (107 Wn.2d 300) But the trial court judge acknowledged that the issue of the PRA"s applicability to court records is generally in doubt, and encouraged Koenig to appeal directly to the supreme court.
