Many courts have been finding a good cause to continue trial when courtroom congestion prevents a defendant from having his or her trial on the scheduled date. Now, under State v. Kenyon, courts will no longer be able to do so. This is particularly noteworthy as most counties in Washington are experiencing budget reductions, which leads to further court delay. With fewer prosecutors to try cases and fewer judges and clerks to staff the courtrooms, courtroom congestion is becoming a greater problem throughout many counties in the state. Based on this ruling, judges may now be forced to dismiss more criminal charges due to lack of available trial dates.

In Washington, not only could this man be charged with indecent exposure, if his 4 prior DUI convictions occurred within the last 10 years, he could be charged with felony DUI.

In Washington, texting while driving and driving while using a phone without a hands-free device are both currently secondary infractions, which means that law enforcement can not pull drivers over for violation of these rules unless there is another permissible reason for the stop, such as speeding, etc. This could change, however, if the bill sponsored by Senators Robert Menendez (NJ), Charles Schumer (NY) Mary Landrieu (A), and Kay Hagan (NC) that seeks to deny highway funding from states that do not implement the ban after two years passes. Though highway bills are not mandatory on the states, if a state chooses not to adopt the bill it will not receive highway funding from the federal government. Highway bills and the money that comes attached to adopting them resulted in every state adopting the national drinking age of 21 and the blood alcohol content (BAC) limit of .08, and may also result in mandatory ignition interlock devices for those convicted of DUI should the pending house bill sponsored by MADD pass.

Compare that to local Thurston County resident Karen Lynn Clark, who pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide yesterday in exchange for a 30 month prison sentence. I am sure Clark would have greatly preferred 24 days in the county jail followed by 24 months of staying at home- let alone a home as nice as Stallworth's.

The HEA didn't always include this provision- it was amended in 1998 under President Clinton. Luckily, the law was again amended in 2006 to only bar those who were currently receiving student loans while they were convicted of a drug offense. Prior to the 2006 amendment, the prohibition applied to anyone seeking student loans, including potential or current students. That being said, the law still has real impacts on students. A college student who makes one bad choice and gets convicted of simple possession of a small amount of marijuana for personal use can find themselves incapable of receiving federal aid. For many students, that means an inability to complete school. The law mandates that a first offense of possession bars students from aid for one year, and a second offense for 2 years, a third offense is an indefinite bar. For those convicted of selling controlled substances, a first offense carries a 2 year bar and a second offense carries an indefinite suspension. Though this may not sound that severe initially, imagine getting kicked out of school for a year for experimenting with marijuana.

A possession of marijuana conviction has serious implications aside from student aid. In Washington, a first time conviction carries a mandatory minimum of 1 day in jail and a $250 or $475 fine, depending on how the sentencing judge interprets the statutory mandatory minimum fines. Possession of marijuana is a simple misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail. Judges typically impose 90 days in jail and suspend all but 1 day, thus offenders not only have one day in jail to serve, they have the potential of serving 89 more if they do not follow the terms of probation. It is unfortunate that those sentenced in State courts also must feel the impact of this federal law that limits their ability to move on and get an education.

On July 22, 2009, Congressman Barney Frank introduced a bill, `Removing Impediments to Students Education Act of 2009' or the `RISE Act of 2009,' in the house. It proposes repealing this provision of the HEA that bar students with drug convictions from receiving aid. The bill has been referred to the house committee on education and labor. Cosponsors of the bill appear in this link. Note that Olympia's Congressman Brian Baird is not among the supporters of the bill. Congressman Baird's contact information appears in this link.

Every Washington State prison is equipped with full medical and dental facilities. Indeed, for many DOC inmates, the only medical care they receive is through the prisons during periods of incarceration. I have heard those sentenced to DOC reference the "tune up" they will get (in the form of medical care) once they reach prison. This irony will not be lost on, John Ray Wilson, a man from New Jersey who suffers from MS and has no health insurance. Wilson sought alternative forms of treatment when all other options grew to costly. Such treatment including bee venom therapy and ingesting cannabis from his home grown marijuana plants. The state discovered Wilson's plants and charged him with operating a drug manufacturing facility. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison, where he would finally have access to medical care. The case has not yet gone to trial, but the Judge has already ruled that Wilson's attorney can not admit evidence that Wilson grew the marijuana in attempt to medicate his own illness.

This program was spearheaded by members of Thurston County's Mental Health Court as well as local public defender Alex Frix, who is the son of a two star general. While growing up, Frix saw the impact that PTSD had on this father and other military members and families, and recognized the need for this specialized court during his representation of veterans charged with crimes in the county. Though veterans previously had the ability to enter mental health court, that court presented some problems for veterans. I previously represented a veteran charged various domestic violence crimes in Thurston County District Court who suffered from both PTSD and TBI. In that case, the prosecutor would not agree to allow my client entrance into mental health court, which is a requirement prior to the Judge allowing entry. The prosecutor felt that though my client suffered from mental health issues, mental health court was not appropriate as this prosecutor viewed veterans mental health problems as different than those defendants who typically wind up in mental health court. Beyond the hurdle of getting prosecutors to agree on mental health court, veterans too often often don't want to enter that court due to the stigma of suffering from mental health problems. Hopefully, now that Thurston County has a court tailored towards veteran specific mental heath issues, veterans can seek comfort in knowing that others who have gone through comparable combat situations have developed similar mental health problems.