Pierce County, Washington Pays $6,250 Settlement for Negligence of Dental Care by Washington State’s Pierce County paid $6,250 to settle a prisoner’s claim for neglectful dental care. Steven Michaelson was a prisoner in the Pierce County Jail when he lost a filling in a molar. He filed a “kite” on …
Washington DOC Pays $35,000 in Discrimination Suit by In a stipulated judgment filed September 16, 2008, Amy Howard was awarded $35,000 for damages and attorney fees and costs for alleged sexual harassment and racial discrimination. Ms. Howard's attorney, W. Michael Hanbey, PS, of Olympia, originally sought $280,000 for damages inflicted …
Washington Prisoner Sexual Abuse Claim Nets $45,000 Settlement by The State of Washington paid $45,000 to settle a prisoner’s claim for sexual misconduct. After prisoner Teresa A. Rutter was transferred to Washington’s Pine Lodge Corrections Center for Women on June 19, 2005, guard Jeffery W. Hill told Rutter that if …
Pierce County, Washington Pays $1,500 for Vehicle Damage by Washington State’s Pierce County paid $1,500 for vehicle damage caused by a county prisoner transport vehicle. On April 8, 2008 Robert B. Smith IV was stopped with traffic in the city of Tacoma. Guard Mitchell Andreasen, who was driving a Pierce …
Pierce County, Washington Unlawful Imprisonment Results in $1,000 Settlement by Washington State’s Pierce County Correction Center paid $1,000 to settle a prisoner’s claim for unlawful imprisonment. On January 31, 2002, Mr. Ted D. Harris was arrested and released on bail after he served twenty-two days. Harris was arrested on February …
Washington Prisoner Paid $19,000 for Partial Loss of Toe by On September 14, 2007, the state of Washington paid $19,000 to settle with a prisoner who had a portion of his toe cut off while mowing grass at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla. The suit, filed in Snohomish …
Washington Pays $12,000 for Slip on Ice at Probation Office by On December 17, 2008, the state of Washington paid $12,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a woman who slipped on an iced-over puddle and fell onto the parking lot of a probation office in Marysville, Washington. As a …
Washington DOC Agrees to Pay $1,000 to Prisoner Burned During Medical Test. by On April 28, 2006, the Washington Department of Corrections (DOC) agreed to pay $1,000 to a prisoner who received substandard medical care. Arthur Billups went in for medical treatment on December 28 and 29 for a test …
Miranda Violation Leads to Reversal by In an initially unpublished opinion filed on August 25, 2009, a Washington appellate court reversed a district court ruling allowing into evidence an incriminating response on a medical questionnaire performed by jail personnel during the booking process. The case involved Virginia Lynn Denney, who …
No Liberty Interest in Washington Prisoner's Good-Conduct Time Earning Class by No Liberty Interest in Time Earning Class In a decision filed by Washington State's Supreme Court on October 8, 2009, the Personal Restrain Petition (PRP) of prisoner Jay Pullman, Jr., was denied. He filed the petition alleging DOC officials …
Washington State Prisoner Cannot Sue State for Volleyball Injury Caused by Oversized Shoes by On September 21, 2009, the Washington State Court of Appeals held that a prisoner cannot recover damages from the state for injuries she received while playing volleyball in oversized sport shoes issued to her by the …
Washington State Not Required to Prove Current Dangerousness for Civil Commitment as Sexually Violent Predator by On October 1, 2009, the en banc Supreme Court of Washington ruled that the state was not required to prove a sex offender would reoffend within the foreseeable future to civilly commit him as …
Supreme Court of Washington Reverses Case Due to Erroneous Jury Instructions by On September 3, 2009, the Supreme Court of Washington State handed down a unanimous en banc decision holding that a defective jury instruction on the law of self defense submitted by the defense attorney requires reversal. Kenneth Kyllo, …
City of Monroe, Washington Ordered to Produce Requested Records by City of Monroe Ordered to Produce Requested Records On October 26, 2009, a Washington appellate court published its opinion affirming in part, reversing in part and remanding a complaint regarding that state's Public Disclosure Act (PDA). The original complaint was …
Washington State DNA Collection Fee Affirmed on Appeal by On October 15, 2008, Brandy Brewster of Washington State was convicted by a jury for possession of cocaine, for which she was arrested almost two years previously on November 15, 2006. At her sentencing on December 8, 2008, Ms. Brewster was …
Civilly Committed Washington State Prisoner's Arson Conviction Upheld by On October 6, 2009, a Washington State court of appeals upheld a prisoner's arson conviction for setting fire to a blanket in his civil commitment room. James Moseley, a resident of the McNeil Island Special Commitment Center (MISCC), used matches to …
Washington State Settles Prisoner's Personal Injury Claim for $20,000 by On January 8, 2007, the State of Washington settled for $20,000 a personal injury claim brought by a state prisoner. Michael Humburgs, a Washington State state prisoner, was incarcerated at the Larch Mountain Corrections Center when he injured his ankle. …
Washington State Settles Wrongful Imprisonment Claim for $5,000 by On November 16, 2006, the State of Washington settled a wrongful imprisonment claim against the Department of Corrections (DOC) for $5,000. Mario Garcia was convicted of burglary and assault and sentenced to 21 months imprisonment and 9-18 months of supervised release. …
Deportation Order Not Determinative of SSOSA Sentence in Washington State by The State of Washington Court of Appeals has held that a trial court abused its discretion when it refused to consider a special sex offender sentencing alternative (SSOSA) based on its mistaken belief that it lacked authority to impose …
Washington State Pays $1,200 for Property Damage Incurred in Botched Arrest Warrant by On February 12, 2007, Vancouver, Washington resident Nathan Miller filed a claim alleging Washington DOC was responsible for property damages he incurred the previous month. DOC supervisor, Scott Wilcox, was serving a warrant at Mr. Miller's address …
