LexMonitor

Florida Bill Limiting Access to 911 Calls Moves Forward

A committee of the Florida legislature this week approved on a party-line vote a bill that would require a court order to access 911 call recordings.  This development follows on the heels of efforts in several other states to curtail access to 911 calls under state sunshine laws, a trend on...

Supreme Court to Consider Disclosure of Copies of Documents Placed Under Seal by a Court

The Seattle Times reported on the Supreme Court arguments in a dispute between the Yakima Herald-Republic and Yakima County regarding the disclosure of copies of court documents.  The dispute involves the billing records of defense attorneys in a murder case that were placed under seal by...

Washington House Reverses Course: Legislature Makes Hand-Held Cell Phone Use While Driving and Texting Primary Offenses

Yesterday the Washington House of Representatives reversed itself by passing the Washington Senate's version of a cell phone/texting bill, which the Governor is expected to sign.   What does this mean to drivers in the State of Washington?  It means that if the bill becomes law (and...

Does Sieyes matter?

This month we cover public access to criminal defense billing records, warrantless searches of locked vehicles, and the court’s opinion on whether minors have a constitutional right to possess guns. Supreme Court of Washington Podcast - Does Sieyes matter?  

Today's Other Opinion: No contact order for life

In re Pers. Restraint of Rainey, No. 81244-6. After convictions for first degree kidnapping and telephone harassment, Shawn Rainey's sentence included an order prohibiting him from any contact with his ex-wife and daughter for life. He appealed that order, challenging that it violates his rights...

Opinion: failure to instruct jury on meaning of "personality disorder" results in retrial

In re Det. of Pouncy, No. 81769-3 (briefs and argument). Curtis Pouncy has a long incarceration history after several sexual assaults. In 2003 the state filed a petition to have Pouncy committed as a sexually violent predator. In order to establish an individual is an SVP, the state must prove the...

New nomination. President Obama as nominated Assistant U.S. Attorney Raymond Lohier, Jr. for a seat on the Second Circuit. Mr. Lohier is chief of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force of the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Southern District of New York.For more information on this...

General Assembly Elects Mims to Supreme Court of Virginia

Yesterday afternoon, the General Assembly unanimously elected William C. Mims to the Supreme Court of Virginia, effective April 1. The VLW Blog has the story, as does WaPo's Virginia Politics Blog. The Richmond Times-Dispatch has a blurb, and carried a short editorial about Mims a few days...

Bellevue City Council Members Allege Open Public Meetings Act Violations

Publicola is reporting that members of the Bellevue City Council are accusing the majority of violating the Open Public Meetings Act by negotiating the text of a letter to Sound Transit without holding an open public meeting.  The council members allege that the letter regarding the...

Watch argument on Public Records Act in Yakima County v. Yakima Herald

In case you have a fetish for following open government law, like we do, here's the video from yesterday's oral argument in Yakima County v. Yakima Herald Republic.