Washington Courts: Press Release Detail

Court of Appeals Division Three to Hear Arguments in Local Cases in Yakima June 9

Division Three of the Washington State Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments outside of their Spokane courtroom during a community visit to the United States Bankruptcy Court in Yakima, on Thursday, June 9th. The court is located at 402 East Yakima Avenue Suite 200.

“We look forward to visiting Yakima and welcome members of the public to join us,” said Chief Judge George B. Fearing.  “We intend to visit other communities in eastern Washington in the following months as we make the court more accessible to the parties and their counsel. Court community visits are a wonderful way for the public to learn more about the judicial branch of government up close, and we thank the judges of the United States Bankruptcy court for the Eastern District of Washington for hosting us in Yakima.” 

Commencing at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, June 9, Court of Appeals Chief Judge George B. Fearing, Acting Chief Judge Robert Lawrence-Berrey, and Judge Rebecca L. Pennell will hear oral arguments in the following local cases:

• State v. Daniel Blizzard, an appeal from an aggravated first degree murder conviction;  
• Joel Gonzalez-Pruneda v. Valley Fruit Co., LLC, an appeal of a worker’s compensation claim; 
• State of Washington v. Eric Allen Haggin, an appeal of convictions for firearm and drug possession and witness tampering;   
• Esmerelda Rodriguez v. Luis Alberto Medina, an appeal of a domestic violence protection order ruling;
• Joseph L. Jones v. Washington State Department of Corrections, an appeal of a ruling relating to the Public Records Act;
• Anna Shamaya Juarez v. Abdon Chavez Juarez, II, an appeal of a domestic violence protection order ruling.

Full case summaries are available online for further details. 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.  

Division III of the Washington Court of Appeals previously heard oral arguments in various eastern Washington cities and welcomes the opportunity to reinstitute this practice.   

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

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

For public members interested in attending the event, enter the Tower building and take elevators to the second floor. Proceed through the security screen station (valid ID required for entry) to Suite 200. Both the Yakima Avenue and 4th Street entrances are wheelchair accessible. ADA parking is available on both Yakima Avenue and 4th Street.