Washington Courts: Press Release Detail

Washington Supreme Court will hear oral arguments at Yakima Valley Community College May 13

The Washington Supreme Court will take its work on the road with a community visit to the Yakima Valley Community College May 12 and 13, which will include a return trip to the alma mater of one Justice.

On May 13, beginning at 9 a.m. in Kendall Auditorium, Chief Justice Gerry Alexander and Justices Charles W. Johnson, Barbara A. Madsen, Richard B. Sanders, Faith Ireland Bobbe J.Bridge, Tom Chambers, Susan Owens and Mary Fairhurst will hear the following oral arguments:

• Mohr v. Grant — Whether a news story that contains only truthful statements may nonetheless be false and defamatory if it omits material facts. The court must decide if a person can be defamed by something another person failed to say. This case involves a Spokane business owner and his action against KXLY-TV in Spokane.
• City of Spokane v. Neff — Whether the Spokane ordinance prohibiting loitering for the purposes of prostitution is unconstitutionally vague because the ordinance does not define the term, “known prostitute.”

• State of Washington v. Reichenbach — After a lunch break, the Court will reconvene at 1:30 p.m.for oral arguments on whether police officers illegally seized drugs found in a car in which Steven Reichenbach was riding as a passenger, and whether Reichenbach’s attorney failed to represent him properly.

Immediately following arguments in the first two cases, the justices will answer questions from the audience, and then recess to conference on the cases until noon. After a lunch with student government members, the justices will hear arguments in the third case, will again answer questions from the audience and then recess to conference in private.

Upon their arrival in Yakima on May 12, the justices will meet with Yakima Valley Community College students and faculty throughout the day. They will attend a swearing-in ceremony for Yakima County Superior Court Judge Ruth Reukauf at the Yakima County Courthouse, and attend an event with the Yakima County Bar Association in the evening.

The trip marks a return to Yakima Valley Community College for alumni Justice Tom Chambers. Justice Chambers was raised in Wapato and attended YVCC before moving on to Washington State University and receiving his law degree from the University of Washington in 1969. For information on Yakima Valley Community College, contact Niki Gable at (509) 574-4646, or visit the college web site at www.yvcc.edu.

The Washington Supreme Court has made community visits throughout the state since 1985, and welcomes the public to the oral arguments. 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. For other media arrangements, please contact AOC media relations in advance of the hearings

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

CONTACT:Chief Justice Gerry Alexander, Washington Supreme Court, (360) 357-2029.