I try to confine my writing to blurbs about recent sex cases, but ‘J.MH.’ is a case of general importance for everyone involved in the criminal justice system, J.M.H. plead guilty to a misdemeanor in juvenile court in 2022. She failed to follow the judge’s court ordered conditions of disposition. The judge issued an arrest Read More…
Author: Jan Olson
Limiting Evidence Instruction “Egregiously Defective” Reversal of Multiple Child Molest Counts State v. Villa Div 1 #85627-8-1 [Unpublished]
Division 1 found the Trial Court here gave a very erroneous limiting instruction on how a jury was to regard 404(b) evidence of ‘other bad acts’. The instruction, propounded by the State prosecutor, inappropriately allowed, almost directed the jury to consider ‘propensity evidence’ in determining whether the State proved the elements of the crime. Propensity Read More…
Dismissed Child Rape From 30 Years Ago Resurrected? State v. Andersons Division 1 Unpublished 85956-1-1
A.W. reported to law enforcement her father raped her in the 1990’s. Her report occurred in 2020. The State charged Mr. Anderson one month after this report with multiple counts of Rape of a Child in the First Degree (‘ROC 1’). Mr. Anderson filed a pre trial motion to dismiss under criminal rule CrR 8.3(b) Read More…