Tag Archives: Skagit County Criminal Defense

WA’s Drunk-Driving Deaths Surge As U.S. Trend Declines

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Which States are the Worst for Drunk Driving? - Safety - Automotive Fleet

Photo: Automotive Fleet

A very informative article in the Olympian reported that Washington State’s alcohol-related driving deaths surged as national trends declined.

THE DATA

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration this year published data showing fatalities in drunk-driver-involved crashes dropped 7.6% during that time frame: from 13,458 to 12,429 deaths. However, Washington witnessed the opposite trend between those two years. Fatalities involving an alcohol-impaired driver increased 18.5% from 2022 to 2023, jumping from 205 to 243, per data from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC).

WHAT EXPLAINS THE INCREASE?

In general, Washington saw its total traffic deaths and impaired-driving-related fatalities increase more than the national average during and after COVID. The overall number of traffic fatalities in the state increased dramatically between 2019 and 2023, climbing from 538 to 809. The year 2023 saw the highest number of such deaths since 1990. Apparently, many people’s behavioral health suffered during the pandemic. Washington encountered a steep rise in traffic deaths involving an alcohol-impaired driver starting in 2020, when COVID-19 first hit.

Other risky driving behaviors also have ballooned in recent years. Speeding driver-involved fatal crashes, for instance, spiked from 2019 to 2023. Also, impaired driver-involved traffic fatalities — a category that includes drivers on drugs — shot up from 254 in 2019 to 410 in 2023, a 61.4% increase.

Impairment in this category is defined as being under the influence of one or more drugs and/or having a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of at least 0.08%, or being flagged as impaired by law enforcement.

WA LEGISLATURE PUSHES FOR TRAFFIC SAFETY

Washington state lawmakers last session pursued legislation aimed at improving road safety. One stalled proposal, Senate Bill 5067, revived the push to lower the legal BAC level for drivers from 0.08% to 0.05%. Utah now abides by a 0.05% standard, as do certain states and provinces in Mexico and Canada.

Alao, a new state law that will require intelligent speed-limiters placed in vehicles for people convicted of reckless driving or who’ve had multiple infractions including excessive speeding. GPS-based devices under House Bill 1596, which takes effect in 2029, will prevent such drivers from zooming past the posted limit.

In addition, WTSC is backing up-and-coming car technology that identifies when a driver is legally impaired. If someone were deemed to be drunk, then their vehicle wouldn’t operate, thanks to “breath-based” tech from DADSS: the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety.

Please contact my office if you, a friend or family member are charged with Vehicular Homicide or any other crime. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.

 

City of Bellingham Implements Tax To Fund Public Safety

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Resuming police foot patrols downtown part of city's renewed safety plan | Cascadia Daily News

Bellingham City Council members approved a measure authorizing a sales tax for public safety. Such a tax would cost Bellingham shoppers about 10 cents on a $100 purchase. It’s estimated to raise about $3.9 million for a range of public safety services in 2026.

“If we do not implement this tax, we will have to come up with another way to close that gap,” Deputy City Administrator Forrest Longman told the council during a committee discussion Monday afternoon. “We’ve picked all the low-hanging fruit already.”

HOUSE BILL 2015 

House Bill 2015 is a statewide public safety funding law that allows qualifying cities and counties to impose a new 0.1% sales and use tax option to fund certain public safety efforts.  The legislation also creates a $100 million grant program that is available only to local and tribal law enforcement agencies that can demonstrate compliance with state law.

Sales tax must be used for criminal justice purposes, while the grant can be used for supporting hiring, training, and retaining officers, as well as community-based criminal justice programs in partnership with law enforcement agencies. Jurisdictions that want to impose the 0.1% sales and use tax must meet the grant criteria.

Whether a jurisdiction adopts the sales tax, applies for the grant, or does both, the eligibility criteria are the same. Law enforcement agencies must meet specific policy, training, and data reporting standards outlined in HB 2015 before funding is approved.

DOES THE CITY OF BELLINGHAM QUALIFY TO IMPOSE THE TAX?

Yes, Bellingham is on track to meet all the requirements for imposing the tax by Oct. 3rd. That’s when enough police officers will have completed training in de-escalation techniques, which is among the requirements under the state law that allows cities to impose the tax.

My opinion? Imposing the tax is a step in the right direction. The tax can be used for several programs that fall under the label of public safety. Examples of other programs include domestic violence, public defenders, re-entry work for offenders and crime-reduction measures.

Please contact my office if you, a friend or family member are charged with a crime. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.

New Report Finds Washingtonians Are Drinking Substantially Less Alcohol

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Photo Courtesy of Trace One Analysis of Google Trends Data

According to a new report, alcohol consumption in Washington State has decreased substantially. This follows nationwide trends that alcohol consumption has shifted noticeably in recent years, with a growing share of adults choosing to drink less — or not at all.

WHY HAS ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION DECREASED NATIONWIDE?

Public health experts point to a combination of factors driving this trend, including increased awareness of alcohol’s health risks, the expansion of cannabis legalization, and changes in social habits as more young people connect online rather than in person. Shifting cultural norms, a broader focus on wellness, and evolving alcohol beverage labeling requirements have also played a role in reshaping drinking behaviors and consumer choices across the country.

At the same time, the market for alcohol alternatives has expanded rapidly. Internet searches for products such as non-alcoholic beer, zero-proof cocktails, and other alcohol-free beverages have surged, reflecting both consumer curiosity and growing retail availability. Beverage companies have responded by rolling out new product lines and catering to consumers who want the taste and social experience of drinking without the intoxicating effects.

This report, conducted by the food and beverage software company Trace One, uses data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to examine national-level trends in alcohol use and Google search data to track the rapid rise in online interest for alcohol alternatives. It then compares current alcohol use rates across states and examines how those rates have changed over time.

HOW DOES WASHINGTON STATE COMPARE?

While northern states have higher rates of alcohol use, many have experienced large declines in recent years. Similarly, Washington State has seen a drop in its share of adults who consume alcohol. Meanwhile, interest in alcohol alternatives has grown. The report, using federal data, found that in 2023, 56.6% of adults in Washington reported consuming alcohol in the past month, down from a peak of 61.8% in 2015.

Google Trends search data show that interest in alcohol-free beverages has surged in recent years. This phenomenon has effectively transformed this niche market into a mainstream category. Searches for “NA beer”—a product that historically carried a poor reputation—have increased nearly tenfold over the past decade. Meanwhile, searches for “zero proof” drinks and “mocktail recipes” have grown from virtually nonexistent to widely popular. Both of these search terms  have reached record highs in recent years.

This surge in consumer interest has reshaped the beverage industry. Athletic Brewing, often credited as a pioneer in the modern non-alcoholic beer market, has built a loyal following by emphasizing flavor and quality on par with traditional craft beer. In response, both large and small breweries have entered the space, offering non-alcoholic versions of flagship beers and developing entirely new alcohol-free product lines.

Major beverage companies have expanded beyond beer into alcohol-free spirits, wines, and ready-to-drink mocktails. Global brands such as Heineken, Guinness, and Budweiser have launched NA versions of their best-known products, while spirits companies have invested in zero-proof gin, whiskey, and tequila alternatives. The growing availability of these products reflects a broader shift: alcohol alternatives are no longer seen as an afterthought for the sober or “designated driver,” but as a legitimate category catering to a much wider audience.

Please contact my office if you, a friend or family member are charged with a crime involving drugs or alcohol. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.

Deepening Racial & Ethnic Disparities in the Youth Justice System Nationwide

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Photo courtesy of Corbis

The Sentencing Project released a series of briefs revealing a disturbing resurgence in youth incarceration and widening racial disparities as of 2023. The data comes on the heels of the Trump Administration calling for increased criminalization of youth.

Reporting from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) showed the first consecutive annual increase in the one-day count of youth incarceration since 2000. The findings, compiled in three newly released briefs, underscore the urgent need for systemic reform in youth justice practices nationwide. Key findings include the following:

Black Youth Incarceration

  • 46% of youth in placement are Black, even though Black youth comprise only 15% of all youth in the United States
  • Black youth are 5.6 times as likely to be incarcerated than white youth– and the Black/white racial disparities in youth incarceration grew more than 10% in 23 states.
  • Nebraska has the highest Black youth incarceration rate, the second-highest Black/white disparity, and the third-fastest growing disparity over the past decade.
  • West Virginia ranks second in Black youth incarceration.

Latino Youth Incarceration

  • Latino youth are at least twice as likely to be incarcerated than white youth in 11 states.
  • The Latino/white disparity rate in youth incarceration grew more than 10% in 13 states over the last ten years.
  • West Virginia has the highest Latino youth incarceration rate.
  • Latino youth were at least three times as likely to be held in placement in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Utah, and South Carolina compared to their white peers.

Tribal Youth Incarceration

  • Tribal youth are almost four times as likely to be incarcerated than white youth.
  • The Tribal/white disparity rate in youth incarceration has grown more than 10% in eight states with significant Tribal populations.
  • South Dakota leads the nation in Tribal youth incarceration, ranks third in its Tribal/white disparity, and has the third-fastest-growing disparity.
  • Minnesota has the highest Tribal/white disparity and ranks third in Tribal youth incarceration.
  • Tribal youth were at least ten times as likely to be held in placement as white youth in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

“These numbers are not just data– they represent tens of thousands of young lives derailed by a system that continues to punish rather than support. Youth of color are already disproportionately impacted by policies and practices that funnel them into the youth justice system, which could be addressed through effective community-based alternatives, like diversion programs. Despite calls from the Trump Administration yesterday to lock up more children, research shows that over-incarcerating our youth won’t deter crime—it only deepens cycles of trauma and inequality, harming families and communities alike.” ~Josh Rovner, Senior Research Analyst at The Sentencing Project.

Prisons and jails are terrible places for our youth. Please contact my office if you, a friend or family member are charged with a crime. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.

WA Court Dismisses Criminal Conviction Due To Overbroad Search Warrant

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EFF Tells the Second Circuit a Second Time That Electronic Device Searches at the Border Require a Warrant | Electronic Frontier Foundation

In State v. Hampton, the WA Court of Appeals held a Search Warrant was overbroad because it allows the seizure of evidence related to crimes for which there was no probable cause; in this case, sex crimes.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Law enforcement investigated Mr. Hampton for trafficking in stolen property and controlled substances. During the investigation, officers seized Hampton’s brown briefcase, which contained electronic storage devices. Thereafter, a search warrant authorized law enforcement to search the electronic storage devices and all contents that showed possession of trafficking in stolen property or drugs.

The search requested search and seizure for the following:

“Any data that may be kept on any of the seized digital devices in any format to include but not limited to intact files, deleted files, deleted file fragments or remnants related to the purchase, possession, receipt and distribution of controlled substances and or stolen property.”

When reviewing files from the storage device, law enforcement viewed ten-year-old videos of Hampton engaging in sexual intercourse with his girlfriend, while she was incapacitated. The superior court refused to suppress the videos. A jury convicted Hampton of numerous Sex Offenses. On appeal, Mr. Hampton argued the search warrant was invalid because of its overbreadth.

COURT’S ANALYSIS & CONCLUSIONS

In short, the Court of Appeals (COA) agreed with Mr. Hampton that the trial court should have granted his motion to suppress. First, the warrant authorized an overbroad and unfettered search of electronic storage devices found in the briefcase. Second, law enforcement exceeded the scope of the authorized search when viewing movie files stored on computer drives without regard to their date or connection to the crimes being investigated.

The COA emphasized that the Fourth Amendment demands in part that no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. Furthermore, the latter part of this clause requires specificity in a search warrant.  Also, Article I, section 7 of the Washington State Constitution states, “No person shall be disturbed in their private affairs or have their home invaded without authority of law.”

The COA also analyzed that the particularity requirement of search warrants provides important protection against governmental invasion of privacy. This is because the demand renders general searches impossible and prevents the seizure of one thing under a warrant describing another. The particularity requirement also ensures judicial oversight of the scope of a law enforcement search such that the executing officer lacks unlimited discretion when executing the warrant. The warrant must be based on probable cause of criminal activity and must limit the scope of the search to the probable cause determination.

“Specificity consists of two components: particularity and breadth,” said the COA. “Particularity demands that the warrant clearly state what is sought. Breadth requires the scope of the warrant be limited by the probable cause on which the warrant is based.”

The COA reasoned that the search of Mr. Hampton’s electronic storage devices conducted by Detective Travis Frizzell verifies the impermissible breadth of the search warrant. The police’s search warrant affidavit established probable cause to believe Timothy Hampton and Robert Rogers engaged in a criminal conspiracy to purchase and sell narcotics in 2020, not almost a decade earlier.

“By viewing videos from 2013, Detective Frizzell stepped inside a time machine and outside the confines of probable cause. The State’s argument that the warrant sanctioned Frizzell’s view of the 2013 files defeats its defense of the constitutionality of the warrant. If we ruled that the search warrant limited the search to evidence of possessing stolen property or controlled substances and thereby upheld the validity of the warrant, we would need to rule that Detective Frizzell’s search exceeded the scope of the warrant.” ~WA Court of Appeals

The COA concluded that a court must suppress evidence seized due to an overly broad search warrant. It remanded Mr. Hampton’s case to the superior court for vacation of his convictions and for dismissal of the charges.

Please contact my office if you, a friend or family member are charged with a crime involving search & seizure issues. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.

Is “Lane Splitting” Legal In Washington State?

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Summer season brings more motorcycle traffic on Washington roads. Unfortunately, one high-risk behavior by motocyclists is illegal lane-splitting. “Lane-splitting” is when a motorcyclist rides between lanes of traffic, often along the white divider line, typically in congested freeway conditions.

IS LANE-SPLITTING LEGAL IN WA STATE?

No, it is not legal. Under RCW 46.61.608, no person shall operate a motorcycle between lanes of traffic or between adjacent lines of vehicles. Violators may face fines and potential impacts to their driving record.

 

WHY IS LANE SPLITTING SO CONTROVERSIAL?

Many believe the behavior creates real safety concerns for everyone on the road. According to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC), motorcycles make up just 3% of registered vehicles in Washington state. Nevertheless, they’re involved in a staggering 16% of all roadway fatalities.

There are also mental and physical blind spots that make lane splitting particularly dangerous. Other motorists simply don’t see or can’t conceive of a motorcyclist weaving in between high-traffic lanes. Essentially, motorcyclists are looking for that gap in traffic where other vehicles are traveling at roughly the same speed. That unpredictability can be fatal—especially in construction zones, or when cars are trying to merge or detour.

WHAT ARE THE COLLATERAL CONSEQUENCES OF ACCIDENTS CAUSE BY LANE-SPLITTING?

The consequences of these crashes go beyond those directly involved. In addition to safety concerns, there are legal and financial consequences for those caught lane splitting. It’s a traffic infraction that can result in a fine of at least $100—and it stays on your driving record.

Making matters worse, a motorcyclist can face additional charges of Reckless Driving. This criminal charge is a gross misdemeanor punishable up to 1 year in jail and a $5,00.00 fine. Being convicted results in automatic 30-day license suspension.

Please contact my office if you, a friend or family member are charged with a crime. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.

Nitazene: More Potent Than Fentanyl

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New, Dangerous Synthetic Opioid in D.C., Emerging in Tri-State Area

Photo Courtesy of the DEA

Nitazenes, a class of synthetic opioids with no approved medical use, are emerging as a serious concern in the United States due to their extreme potency and association with overdose deaths.

WHAT ARE NITAZENES?

Nitazenes (benzimidazole-opioids) are a class of extremely potent novel synthetic opioids. First developed in the 1950s by researchers in Switzerland as an opioid analgesic alternative to morphine, nitazenes were never approved for medical use.

Beginning in 2019, nitazenes emerged more widely on the illicit drug market in Europe. Since then, nitazenes have been identified on nearly every continent, including North America, South America, Asia, and Oceania. Due to their recent emergence, comprehensive data on the spread of nitazenes are not available. Limited data described in this report suggest that nitazene use is a growing trend in North America and that availability is likely spreading across the Americas. As they have emerged across the globe, illicit manufacturers have continuously synthesized new and chemically distinct types of nitazenes. Today, at least 13 different types of nitazenes have been identified.

WHY AND HOW DO PEOPLE USE NITAZENES?

People may use nitazenes for the same reasons that they use other opioids. Nitazene use may be motivated by self-treatment for physical, mental, or emotional disorders. They are also used to experience opioid effects, such as feelings of euphoria, relaxation, sleepiness, and reduced pain. Nitazenes are frequently mixed with or counterfeited as other drugs (e.g., heroin, fentanyl, benzodiazepines, or other synthetic drugs) to increase potency and cut costs. Nitazenes are available in many forms, including pills, powders, and sprays – both in “pure” form and mixed with other drugs.

DANGERS OF NITAZENES

Nitazenes are highly addictive and continued use can lead to dependency. Although studies about nitazene dependence and withdrawal are limited, nitazene withdrawal has a high potential to be severe and painful. Nitazenes can also cause dizziness, nausea, vomiting, disorientation, loss of consciousness, and seizures.

Like other opioids, nitazenes present a high risk of central nervous system or respiratory depression, as well as cardiac arrest. Nitazenes present an especially high risk for overdose and overdose mortality, due to their high potency. Nitazene potency varies significantly, but all nitazenes are much more potent than natural (non-synthetic) opioids, such as morphine.

OVERDOSE STATISTICS

At least 2,000 deaths have been associated with nitazenes nationwide since 2019. For example, Tennessee saw a four-fold increase in nitazene-involved overdose deaths between 2020 and 2021.

NITAZENES IN THE AMERICAS

Regional trends in the opioid epidemic are often first identified in the United States and Canada, including the prior emergence of fentanyl and xylazine. Both countries are recognized as the global epicenters of the opioid epidemic and support robust substance use surveillance systems. Nitazenes were first identified in the street drug supplies of both countries in late 2019 and early 2020. Since then, other findings indicate that nitazene use is continuing to spread on the continent.

Please contact my office if you, a friend or family member are charged with a Drug Offense or any other crime. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.

The Problems With AI-Generated Police Reports

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AI-written police reports spark efficiency debate | Digital Watch Observatory

A small but growing number of police departments are adopting software products that use AI to draft police reports for officers. Jay Stanley, a Senior Policy Analyst for the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, recently published a six-page white paper explaining why it police departments should not use Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to wrtite police reports. 

Why Are Police Reports So Important to Criminal Investigations?

Police reports play an important role in criminal investigations and prosecutions. Introducing novel AI language-generating technology into the criminal justice system raises significant civil liberties and civil rights concerns. Police reports play a crucial role in our justice system. They are central to the criminal proceedings that determine people’s innocence, guilt, and punishment, and are often the only official account of what took place during a particular incident.

How Does AI Assist In Drafting Police Reports?

The concept behind the AI products –the most prominent of which is sold by the police technology company Axon – is that an officer can select a body camera video file and have the audio of that file transcribed. A large language model (LLM) like ChatGPT is then used to turn that transcript into a first-person narrative for the officer in the typical format of a police report. The officer can then edit the file before swearing to its veracity and submitting it.

According to the ACLU, the problems with this concept fall into four main issues:

1. Problems With AI Itself.

The technology, as anyone who has experimented with LLMs like ChatGPT knows, is quirky and unreliable and prone to making up facts. AI is also biased. Because LLMs are trained on something close to the entire Internet, they inevitably absorb the racism, sexism, and other biases that permeate our culture. Even if an AI program doesn’t make explicit errors or exhibit obvious biases, it could still spin things in subtle ways that an officer doesn’t even notice.

2. Using Body Camera Transcripts For Creating AI Police Reports Raises Significant Issues Around Evidence and Memory.

Human memory — unlike video recordings — is extremely malleable. Subsequent information about an event can literally change a person’s memory of what took place. That’s why it’s important that an officer’s subjective experiences and memories of an incident be memorialized before they are contaminated by an AI’s body camera-based storytelling. But if the police report is just an AI rehash of the body camera video, it may write over certain facts or details the officer might have otherwise recorded. Worst-case scenario, the technology allows officers to be inaccurate and/or lie.

3. AI Raises Serious Questions About Transparency.

Given the novel, experimental nature of AI-generated police reports, it’s important for the public to understand what’s going on so that independent experts can evaluate the technology, and communities and their elected representatives can decide whether they want the police officers that serve them to use it. And it’s vital that defendants in criminal cases be able to interrogate the evidence against them. Yet, much of the operation of these systems remains mysterious.

4. Forcing Police To Write Down the Reasons For Use of Discretionary Power Reminds Them of the Legal Limits of Their Auithority.

A police officer’s written justifications for things like stops, frisks, searches & seizures are also reviewed by their supervisors. The supervisor uses what’s written to identify when an officer might not know or observe those limits. A shift to AI-drafted police reports would sweep away these important accountability roles that reports play within police departments and within the minds of officers.

For these reasons, the ACLU does not believe police departments should allow officers to use AI to generate draft police reports. As their white paper describes, AI report-writing technology removes important human elements from police procedures. It is too new, too untested, too unreliable, too opaque, and too biased to be inserted into our criminal justice system.

Please contact my office if you, a friend or family member are charged with a crime. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.

The “Ruse” Tactics of ICE May Violate Constitutional Rights

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Who are these people?' Masked immigration agents challenge local police, sow fear in L.A. - Los Angeles Times

Photo Courtesy of Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times

During the first 100 days of President Donald J. Trump’s second term, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested and deported thousands of illegal aliens. The undocumented immigrants are broadly labelled as criminals who threaten public safety and national security.

Although some undocuments immigrants are criminals, many of them are not. They are  hardworking individuals simply going about their daily lives — working, commuting, and spending time at home with families.

Unfortunately, ICE has used racial profiling and intimidation tactics that instill fear and confusion in communities and stoke mistrust in the police. ICE deploys “ruse” tactics to gain warrantless entry into people’s homes or lure them out. Ruses are a tactic used frequently by ICE in investigating and arresting non-citizens. Since 2013, hundreds of reported raids include those involving ICE’s use of ruses.

WHAT IS AN “ICE RUSE?”

    • Impersonating local law enforcement: ICE agents frequently pose as local police officers, detectives, or probation officers to gain trust or induce individuals to open their doors or cooperate. They might wear plain clothes, wear uniforms labeled “POLICE,” or even vests that resemble local law enforcement uniforms, while concealing any ICE identification.
    • Fabricating investigations: Agents might claim to be investigating a fake crime or a fake crime suspect to identify and locate the targeted individual. They could show a picture of a “suspect” and use a name that matches someone in the household to trick residents into revealing information or letting them inside.
    • Misrepresenting purpose: Agents may request to “take a quick look around” or “come in to talk,” without explicitly stating they are ICE or seeking to make an arrest. This tactic aims to obtain consent to enter the home without the individual realizing they have the right to refuse entry.
    • Using phone ruses: ICE agents may also employ ruses over the phone to locate targets. These could include pretending to be local police asking questions, asking the person to meet them regarding a fake criminal case, claiming to have found a lost ID and needing to arrange a pickup, or contacting them about a court date or updated contact information. 
WHY DO SOME RUSE TACTICS VIOLATE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS?
Under the law, police officers, including ICE, can sometimes employ deceptive tactics in investigations, According to the Harvard Law Review, however, these ruses must generally be within legal boundaries and not violate constitutional rights. For instance, without a judicial warrant, ICE agents cannot force entry into a home and rely on trickery or deception to obtain consent, which raises questions about the voluntariness of that consent.
WHAT CAN PEOPLE IN IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES DO TO PREVENT UNLAWFUL ARREST, SEARCH, SEIZURE AND DEPORTATION?

In the meantime, people in immigrant communities can defend themselves by knowing their rights. Anybody confronted by law enforcement — whether undocumented or not — can and should do their best to verify the officers’ identity and purpose, document the encounter, and report what happened. Community members who know their rights can lawfully prevent ICE from entering their homes and protect themselves and their loved ones from such deceptive practices. More information in English and Spanish can be found here.

Please review my Search & Seizure Guide and contact my office if you, a friend or family member are charged with a crime. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.

The Law On Open Containers In Vehicles

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Summer is here. And unfortunately, warm-weather fun brings warm-weather dangers. More traffic fatalities occur on Washington’s roads during summer months than any other time of year. In order to crack down on dangerous driving, law enforcement puts extra emphasis on traffic patrols. According to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, there were 253 fatal crashes on state roadways between June and September 2024.

What if you’re found drinking alcohol in a car, but your driver hasn’t had a drop? How can you expect law enforcement to react? Will you get pulled over for drinking in the passenger seat?

WASHINGTON’S LAW ON OPEN CONTAINERS: RCW 46.61.519

Under RCW 46.61.519, Drinking alcohol in a vehicle on the highway is a traffic infraction. It’s illegal to have an open container with an alcoholic beverage in a vehicle at all, regardless if the driver drinks from it. The statute describes an “open container” as “a bottle, can, or other receptacle containing an alcoholic beverage if the container has been opened or a seal broken or the contents partially removed.”

CAN THE DRIVER GET PULLED OVER FOR THE PASSENGER’S OPEN CONTAINER?

Yes. Open containers in vehicles are considered a primary violation, meaning you can get pulled over for having one. The primary reason passengers cannot drink is to prevent driver’s access. If a passenger has an open container, they can easily pass it to the driver. Law enforcement would have no way to determine if the driver had been drinking and simply passed the container to a passenger.

CAN A DRIVER GET PULLED OVER FOR DISGUISING AN ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE?

Yes. Under RCW 46.61.5195, it is an additional infraction to try and disguise an alcoholic beverage in order to get around this state code. These traffic infractions come with a fine of $145.

WHAT ARE THE EXCEPTIONS TO THE STATUTE?

There are some exceptions to Washington’s “Open Container” statute. The code does not apply for open containers:

  • In public services commercially chartered for group use, like a party bus.
  • In the living quarters of motors homes or campers.
  • With passengers in a licensed for-hire vehicle (not rideshares), like a limousine.
  • When a privately-owned vehicle is driven by a licensed employee under normal work conditions.

Patrols will be looking for dangerous behaviors like speeding and drunk driving. Please contact my office if you, a friend or family member are charged with Reckless Driving, DUI or any other vehicular crimes. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.