Criminal Defense

Cops jumping to conclusions? What could go wrong with that? Gustave Flaubert said that “Stupidity lies in wanting to draw conclusions.” I just finished a criminal trial for my client in which the cops and “victims” couldn’t wait to jump to conclusions. The basic facts...

You owe us that money, say cops. Attorney General Eric Holder’s January 16th order modifying the DOJ’s civil asset forfeiture policy is a step in the right direction, but does not go far enough. Civil asset forfeiture laws empower law enforcement agencies to seize...

Don’t use those graphics in your PowerPoint closing argument…in some courts. Prosecutors in Pierce County have gotten the absolute beat down for using inflamatory PowerPoint closes recently. Stamping “GUILTY” across the face of a defendant’s picture is bad. If you...

How to taint a jury The Pierce County legal community just found out that part of the initial jury orientation involved a discussion about safety and what to watch out for while at the courthouse…by two cops. The faces of justice, and concern, and niceness, and taint....

You have to demand to remain silent. In 2010 the United States Supreme Court ruled that in order to invoke the “right to remain silent”, a person subject to police interrogation must affirmatively sound off. Because the defendant in Berghuis v. Thompkins did not...

What are you gonna do if I take your stuff? What if cops could call you a drug dealer and take all the money you have in your pockets? To make things worse, what if you then had to prove that you’re not a drug dealer in order to get your money back? Sounds like theft,...

Lying Fife Cop Fired. Everyone trusts cops to tell the truth. Everyone except the innocent victim who goes to jail on a cop’s lie, and get’s convicted on a cop’s lie. If you ever face a dirty cop, you better hope there is video evidence. In a recent Pierce County...

Restore Your Gun Rights. If you’re reading with a gun nearby, and a felony, or DV conviction in your past, be careful! In Washington State, any felony conviction and some misdemeanor DV convictions will result in a loss of the right to possess a firearm. It doesn’t...

Clean Up Your History! Who doesn’t love a good vacation? Nobody! Everybody loves vacation. This is especially true if you were ever convicted of a crime! In Washington State, The process of removing a misdemeanor conviction from your criminal history is called...

Washington Second Amendment lawyers are closely watching developments in Missouri. The “Show Me State” recently organized a four-day Urban Crime Summit at which attendees were to come up with ideas for reducing crime. One of the ideas being floated during this summit...