Washington Courts: Press Release Detail

On the Road Again: Supreme Court to Hear Cases at Skagit Valley Community College's Mount Vernon Campus

The Washington Supreme Court’s nine justices will lunch with students, speak to classes regarding the state and federal constitutions, legal careers, and hear arguments on three real cases in a community visit to Skagit Valley College’s Mount Vernon Campus on February 22-23, 2010.

The court sessions will be at McIntyre Hall Performing Arts & Conference Center and are open to the public. “In addition to students, we encourage anyone interested in learning more about the judicial branch of government to see the workings of the highest court up close and personal,” said Chief Justice Barbara A. Madsen.

“This is an important event for Skagit Valley College, high school and college students, and the communities we serve,” said Dr. Gary Tollefson, President of Skagit Valley College. “Their visit to our Mount Vernon Campus provides us with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see Washington’s Supreme Court in action, right here in our community.”

The state’s highest court is located in Olympia in the Temple of Justice on the state capitol grounds. For more than a decade, the Court has heard cases “on the road” three times a year in an outreach effort allowing citizens to see the court in action in their local communities. After lunch with students, the justices will visit classrooms and hold open forums at Skagit Valley College’s Mount Vernon Campus on Monday, February 22, from 1:30-3:30 p.m. on a wide range of topics.

The Court will end Monday with a reception with the Skagit County Bar Association, local judges and elected officials, and other invited guests. Beginning at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, February 23, Chief Justice Barbara A. Madsen and Associate Justices Charles W. Johnson, Gerry Alexander, Richard B. Sanders, Tom Chambers, Susan J. Owens, Mary Fairhurst, Jim Johnson and Debra Stephens will hear the following cases at McIntyre Hall:

• No. 82210-7 State of Washington v. Adams: Whether police lawfully searched a car incident to the driver’s arrest when the arrest took place after the driver got out of the car and locked it.

• No. 82225-5 City of Port Angeles v. Our Water-Our Choice: Whether proposed local initiatives seeking to prohibit the city of Port Angeles from adding fluoride to its public water system are within the local initiative power.

The court will reconvene at 1:15 p.m. to hear the last case of the day:

• No. 81921-1, 81940-8 State of Washington v. Bunker; State v. Williams; State v. Vincent: Whether under former RCW 26.50.110 ( 2006), violation of a domestic violence no-contact order constituted a criminal offense only if the violation was one for which arrest was required under RCW 10.31.100(a) or (b).

Though cameras and video recorders are generally allowed, the Court asks that no flash, other lights or noisy film advance mechanisms be used during the hearings. Only one television camera will be allowed to film the oral arguments; other TV stations are asked to pool coverage.

Oral arguments will be taped for broadcast at a later date via Washington’s Public Affairs network, TVW. Written opinions are rendered approximately three to six months after oral arguments.

For further information regarding the Court, visit the Washington Courts web site at www.courts.wa.gov. For more information about the Supreme Court’s visit to Skagit Valley College, visit the College’s website, www.skagit.edu/supremecourt.