Criminal Justice

The Lake Washington School Board in Redmond, WA has decided not to impose restitution or community service on three Eastlake High School students who created a Web site on which someone else posted a death threat last fall.

The American Civil Liberties Union today issued a report that details the problems with the manner in which counties provide criminal defense services to people in poverty. The report, “The Unfulfilled Promise of Gideon,” shows that a majority of Washington counties lack comprehensive standards and adequate oversight systems to ensure that these publicly funded legal services meet basic constitutional standards.

A class-action lawsuit seeking to reform Grant County’s woefully inadequate public defense system. The lawsuit seeks a court order mandating that the County operate a constitutionally adequate system of public defense. The American Civil Liberties Union and Columbia Legal Services filed the suit in April.

The American Civil Liberties Union and Columbia Legal Services today are filing a class-action lawsuit seeking to reform Grant County

A bill was introduced in the Senate and House of Representatives today to provide that an incarcerated person may ask a court for DNA testing of biological evidence relating to his or her case.

Letter to Undersheriff Neil McClanahan, Thurston County Sheriff's Office, regarding overcrowded jail conditions

The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a lawsuit on behalf of an Issaquah mother and her son challenging a recently passed Issaquah ordinance that imposes highly restrictive limits on housing for people with past convictions for sex offenses.

Kittitas County Superior Court has ruled that Grant County's public defense system has serious deficiencies and warrants a trial to create a new system with better legal representation for poor defendants.

The American Civil Liberties Union today filed suit over inhumane conditions for prisoners at the Jefferson County Jail in Port Hadlock.

Settling a class-action lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington and Columbia Legal Services, Grant County officials have agreed to overhaul the county’s system for providing legal defense to people charged with felonies who cannot afford an attorney. Under the settlement, the county will reduce excessive caseloads, guarantee that public defense lawyers are qualified to handle serious felony cases, and provide adequate funding for investigators and expert witnesses.