The Police Seized Me and Took Evidence without Cause Most people understand when they are under arrest because it usually involves an explicit statement from police advising the status, restraint by handcuffs, being placed in the back of a police car, and having rights recited. However, many do not fully understand the legality of a temporary detention by police. Popular misconception has somewhat polarized… Read More
The Police Questioned Me Without Cause, Then Arrested Me Police are not allowed to detain people on mere hunches or tenuous veins of suspicion. This is because the Fourth Amendment protects the rights of citizens to be secure in their persons and homes, and not be subject to arbitrary search or seizure. It is important to understand that the Fourth Amendment does not provide absolute… Read More
The Police Did Not Read Me My Rights; Can I Automatically Get Off? Most people are aware that arrestees have certain rights, and that police often advise them of these rights at the time of arrest. Television and cinema are largely responsible for spreading this knowledge. However, movies and television shows are not scholarly sources of information, and can often be misleading and incorrect in fact. Police are… Read More
I Got a Great Deal on Some Goods; Now I Am Charged With Possessing Stolen Property It is not only the Internal Revenue Service that attempts to monitor and regulate the sale of goods, but also the police. Finding a great deal on goods such as electronics or car parts, especially those sold from a car trunk or the back of a van, can involve later charges of possessing stolen property.… Read More
A Police Officer Arrested Me Out of His Jurisdiction; Is This Legal? While police authority is usually relegated to boundaries of jurisdiction (such as the city limits of Bellevue for the Bellevue Police, for example), circumstances can expand the geographical limits of police jurisdiction and attendant authority to arrest or detain. In any case, when an offender flees and police pursuit crosses borders, the officers in pursuit… Read More
What is First Degree Assault in the State of Washington? First degree assault is defined to encompass many acts, all of which must include malicious intent. Malicious intent is a mental process possessed by an offender, out of which manifested actions are designed to produce great bodily harm or death to the victim. In other words, the offender was motivated by a mental process which… Read More
What Are The First Steps To Take If You Suspect Identity Theft? Identity theft statutes in Washington provide that “No person may knowingly obtain, possess, use, or transfer a means of identification or financial information of another person, living or dead, with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, any crime.” Usually, the crime committed, aided, or abetted involves financial fraud subsequent to the illicit… Read More
How Can a Conviction be Expunged in the State of Washington? Some records of criminal conviction can be expunged (removed from the records of a citizen) by filing a Motion to Vacate Conviction. These motions must be filed in the jurisdiction in which the conviction was handed down. Certain convictions are not eligible for expungement. Ineligible convictions include DUI, sex offenses, and those classified by Washington… Read More
Can Emotional Abuse be Considered Domestic Violence? Domestic violence is defined in part by RCW 26.50.20 as “Physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or the infliction of fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury or assault, between family or household members.” Also included in qualifying behaviors are sexual assault and stalking. A necessary element is the domestic relationship between victim and offender which… Read More
Can Juvenile Criminal Records Remain on Adult Criminal Reports in Washington? In the state of Washington, juvenile criminal records do not disappear upon the offending party reaching adulthood. However, these records might become eligible for increasingly restricted access when the offender reaches the ages of 18, 21, and 23. Juvenile and adult records are two separate files, with different rules governing access, so juvenile criminal adjudications… Read More