Author: Nina Arranza-Riley

Prosecutorial Misconduct Leads to New Trial for WAP Client

April 5, 2021 – Court of Appeals Division II reverses a second-degree murder conviction due to repeated ‘ill-intentioned’ misconducts by the prosecutor.

A new trial awaits a man who was accused of killing his mother in 2018 in their Tacoma home.

Client Sebastian Levy-Aldrete argued on appeal that he did not receive a fair trial due to numerous instances of misconduct by the Pierce county prosecutor, and the Court agreed on Tuesday.
“The cumulative effect of these repeated instances of misconduct were substantially likely to have affected the verdict,” Judge Lisa Sutton wrote in the opinion. “Thus, we hold that Levy-Aldrete has met his burden to show reversible prosecutorial misconduct.”

His attorney, Richard Lechich, points out prior cases wherein misconduct was involved within Pierce County, stating that “the previous prosecutor and their office had this reputation.”

To read more on this topic, please visit the following article by The News Tribune.

State Supreme Court Decision Revolutionizes Washington’s Drug Laws

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Press Contact:

Richard Lechich, Staff Attorney

(206) 587-2711 ex. 205

February 25, 2021 – Court’s opinion in Blake decriminalizes unknowing drug possession, joining 49 other states

(Olympia, WA) – The Washington Supreme Court struck down today the state’s drug possession law as unconstitutional because it allows people to be convicted of a crime for completely innocent conduct.

Police found a small baggie of drugs in the coin pocket of Shannon Blake’s jeans, and charged her with drug possession – a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a hefty fine.  But Ms. Blake did not use drugs.  Her friend had purchased the jeans secondhand and gifted them to her two days prior.  Although Ms. Blake was unaware of the drugs, she was found guilty because Washington law does not require proof that a defendant knowingly possessed drugs.

The Court concluded the law unconstitutionally criminalized “passive and innocent nonconduct” and that Ms. Blake was convicted although the prosecutor did not prove that she “did anything except wear jeans that had pockets.”

The Court expressed concern that the law could extend criminal liability to those who “pick up the wrong bag at the airport, the wrong jacket at the concert, or even the wrong briefcase at the courthouse.  Or a child might carry an adult’s backpack, not knowing that it contains the adult’s illegal drugs.”

“The Court correctly recognized the injustice of convicting people for innocent conduct,” said Richard Lechich, a Staff Attorney at the Washington Appellate Project who argued the case before the Court.  “While the decision cannot rectify the harm this law caused to so many communities, particularly communities of color, it at least puts an end to it.”

As a result of the Court’s decision, Washington joins 49 other states and the federal government in recognizing that the unknowing possession of drugs is not a crime.

The full opinion in State v. Blake is available on the Court’s website.

ALERT: Phone scam targets incarcerated individuals and their families

(December 12, 2020) – The Pierce County Prosecutor warns that a company has been contacting families of incarcerated individuals, offering $1,500 services to aid their loved ones in requesting a resentencing hearing.

Prosecutor Mary Robnett warned that families have been receiving calls offering $1,500 to aid their loved ones in requesting a resentencing hearing, wrongly implying that certified court documents are needed to request one as per a new Washington law.

Please note there is no need for “certified” court documents and no need to pay to request resentencing. The law the scam refers to, Senate Bill 6164, makes no mention of such a requirement.

Please notify others of this scam and contact us if you have any questions or concerns.

To read the full text of Senate Bill 6164, click here.

To read an article from The News Tribune regarding the scam, click here.