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Phyllis Fletcher

Stories

  • Washington Supreme Court Says Jury Selection Must Be Public

    The Supreme Court of Washington issued opinions on four cases Wednesday about how courts and judges interact with jurors. In three of the cases the Supreme Court ruled that jury selection has to happen in the open.David Zuckerman was a lawyer on one of the cases. He represented an inmate who appealed his conviction of molesting and raping his own daughter. Zuckerman reviewed the trial transcript, and he noticed that “the judge handled some of the jury selection not in a public courtroom, but instead in the judge’s private chambers.” Zuckerman said that was a violation the Washington Constitution.“All proceedings are supposed to be handled in an open public courtroom,” he said, “unless the judge finds some very compelling reasons to keep a hearing closed.”The Supreme Court majority agreed with Zuckerman. His client gets a new trial.Zuckerman said lawyers who win cases like this worry sometimes about how the public will react, especially when someone convicted of a serious crime gets to start over. But Zuckerman said maintaining an open court is not only about the rights of a defendant. “Really, the court is protecting the rights of everybody,” he said, including the public and the press. “Anyone who wants to see whether things are being done fairly.”In another case, the Supreme Court decided a judge can take questions from jurors without reading or discussing them in open court, as long as the questions and answers become part of the court record.

  • Cars Caught Speeding On Camera Now Get $189 Tickets

    Starting Monday, drivers who speed past any of four Seattle schools will get tickets in the mail. Vehicles that go more than 20 miles per hour when school is in session are caught on camera.The four schools with speed cameras are Thurgood Marshall Elementary on the I-90 lid, Gatewood Elementary in West Seattle, and Olympic View Elementary and Broadview Thomson K-8 in the north end.The principal at Broadview Thomson, Wyeth Jessee, played a role in getting cameras installed near his school on Greenwood Avenue North, where he says drivers frequently go 40 miles per hour. “We’ve had a couple buses hit by speeding cars,” he said, “and have watched cars speed by and go right through the light that is at the crosswalk in front of the school.”So Jessee has asked for police officers to stand out front with radar guns. Jessee said when he could get an officer, traffic would slow down for a few days and eventually speed back up. So he documented crashes and near-misses and asked the Seattle Department of Transportation for help. Jessee said he was thrilled when SDOT had speed cameras installed at his school zone in September.Since the cameras have been on, speeders have gotten warnings in the mail. Now the warnings go away and the tickets start.The company that sells the camera systems and generates the tickets is headquartered in Arizona. It’s been the target of anger and lawsuits. People have complained the cameras make mistakes, and that it’s all just a way for the city and a private company to make money.Drivers have called Jessee to ask how much the new tickets will be. The answer: $189.
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    Democrat Concedes Secretary Of State Contest

    Democrat Kathleen Drew has conceded the race for Washington secretary of state.In a statement Saturday, Drew said of her Republican rival Kim Wyman, "I know that she will carry forward Washington’s tradition of fair and impartial elections, and I am optimistic that she will work on measures to remove barriers and increase voter participation."The race between Drew and Wyman is the tightest contest for a statewide office this election. Wyman will continue 48 years of Republican secretaries of state in Washington if she holds her lead. She is the former auditor of Thurston County.