Washington Courts: Press Release Detail

Public welcome as Washington Court of Appeals, Div. III hears cases in Ephrata on March 21st

The Washington State Court of Appeals, Division III, will hear oral arguments outside of its Spokane courtroom during a community visit to the Grant County Courthouse in Ephrata on Tuesday, March 21st.

 The public is welcome to attend the oral arguments which begin at 9 a.m. at the Grant County Courthouse, 35 C Street NW, Ephrata, in hearing room 242B.

 “We look forward to visiting Grant County in our effort to make our court more accessible to the public.  We thank the Grant County Clerk, Court Administrator and Superior Court judges for hosting us,” said Chief Judge George B. Fearing.

 Beginning at 9 a.m., a panel including Chief Judge Fearing, Judge Kevin M. Korsmo, Judge Laurel H. Siddoway and Judge Rebecca L. Pennell will hear oral arguments in the following cases:

• EPIC v. CliftonLarsonAllen, LLP (Yakima) — Enterprise and Progress in the Community (EPIC), a non-profit corporation, is appealing the dismissal of its lawsuit against accounting firm CliftonLarsonAllen LLP regarding an audit and outcomes of the audit.
• State of Washington v. Luis Alberto Anguiano (Yakima) — An appeal by Luis Alberto Anguiano of his conviction of first degree murder with extreme indifference, first degree assault and other crimes, as well as his sentence of 830 months.
• Brian Pellham v. Let’s Go Tubing, Inc. (Chelan) — Appeal by Brian Pellham of a dismissal of his lawsuit against Let’s Go Tubing after an injury he sustained during a river trip.

• In re the Personal Restraint of Casmer Joseph Volk (Kittitas) — Casmer Volk was convicted of first degree rape of a child and his judgment and sentence was affirmed on appeal. In this petition for relief from personal restraint, he alleges that his trial counsel was deficient for failing to adequately investigate the case, to consult forensic and juvenile memory experts, or to present exculpatory evidence.

• Heidi Jo Hendrickson v. Moses Lake School District (Grant) — Heidi Jo Hendrickson lost part of her thumb after an accident in her high school shop class. She sued the Moses Lake School District, alleging negligence. A jury found the school district negligent, but also found that the district’s negligence was not a proximate cause of Ms. Hendrickson’s injury.  Ms. Hendrickson appeals.

Full case summaries are available online at Division III--Issue Summaries. Each argument will last approximately 30 minutes.  After the oral arguments, the court will entertain questions from the public about the role and function of the Court of Appeals.

The Court of Appeals Division III is headquartered in Spokane and hears appeals from trial courts throughout the Eastern Washington counties of Ferry, Lincoln, Okanogan, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Adams, Asotin, Benton, Columbia, Franklin, Garfield, Grant, Walla Walla, Whitman, Chelan, Douglas, Kittitas, Klickitat and Yakima.

The Court recently reinstituted the practice of occasionally hearing oral arguments in various eastern Washington cities outside of its Spokane headquarters, and welcomes the public to attend hearings and learn more about the court.  

For further information regarding the Court, visit the Washington Courts Web site at http://www.courts.wa.gov/appellate_trial_courts/ .    

CONTACT:  Court of Appeals Div. III Clerk Renee Townsley, (509) 456-3082, Renee.Townsley@courts.wa.gov.