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Ill-intentioned misconduct by deputy prosecutor means new trial for accused killer News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash. 2 hrs ago Alexis Krell, The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.) Apr. 1 A man sentenced for a gruesome attack that killed his mother at their Tacoma home needs a new trial because of a Pierce County deputy prosecutor s misconduct, an appellate court said this week. Sebastian Levy-Aldrete argued on appeal that he didn t get a fair trial due to prosecutorial misconduct, and a three-judge panel of Division II of the Washington State Court of Appeals agreed Tuesday. The cumulative effect of these repeated instances of misconduct were substantially likely to have affected the verdict, Judge Lisa Sutton wrote for the panel. Thus, we hold that Levy-Aldrete has met his burden to show reversible prosecutorial misconduct. ....
An appellate court in Washington state said this week that a man who was sentenced in a gruesome attack resulting in his mother's death in 2017 will get a new trial because of prosecutorial misconduct. ....
BY DAVID KROMAN / CROSSCUT Originally published March 12, 2021 on Crosscut.com When Kelly Vomacka first read that the Washington Supreme Court had struck down the law criminalizing drug possession in the state, she was in disbelief. The Blake decision, named for the woman at its center, was not at all on Vomacka’s radar. While she was peripherally aware of the case, she would not have guessed that this is where it would lead. In this, she was not alone attorneys, advocates, lawmakers, even the lawyer who argued before the nine justices on Shannon Blake’s behalf, were all surprised that the court would take the case of a woman with drugs in her jeans pocket to such lengths. ....
Washington State Supreme Court Rules Drug Possession Law Unconstitutional In 5-4 Decision On 3/13/21 at 12:14 AM EST The Washington state Supreme Court has ruled that the state s felony drug possession law is unconstitutional. The court s decision potentially upends years worth of convictions, imprisonment and related fines, leaving prosecutors, lawyers and legislators unsure how to proceed. A Democratic state legislator has introduced a replacement law to re-criminalize drug possession. But some legal and drug reform advocates would prefer it remain an inactive relic from War on Drugs. The court issued its decision on February 25 in the case of State of Washington v. Shannon Blake. The case involved a 2016 drug possession charge. ....