Washington Court of Appeals Hearings Set for May 1 at CWU

Washington State Court of Appeals Division III will hear five cases on May 1, between 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. at Central Washington University in the Student Union and Recreation Center (SURC) Theatre.

Trials on the docket involve appealing criminal convictions, statute of limitations in a malpractice action lawsuit, and a court-ordered award due to failures to uphold the Public Records Act.

All hearings are open to the public.

Division III is headquartered in Spokane and serves 20 counties across central and eastern Washington. Periodically, hearings are held in different counties to provide access to those living in other regions.

This time, the hearings fall on May 1, Law Day—a national day set aside to celebrate the rule of law. Law Day emphasizes the importance of law and legal process to the freedoms Americans share and the role of courts in a democracy.

“Attending court cases demystifies proceedings for a wider audience who ordinarily would not have access,” said CWU law & justice professor and department chair Paul Knepper.

Judges Robert Lawrence-Berrey, Kevin Korsmo, and Rebecca Pennell will preside over proceedings with compainants from Kittitas, Yakima, Benton, Chelan, and Okanogan counties.

Kittitas County is also listed as one of the respondents--in the case of Randall Hoffman v. Kittitas County, et al.

According to a summary drawn from briefs, the case involves Hoffman’s submissions for public records from the Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office. Hoffman was awarded $15,498 and his reasonable attorney fees from the county after the court found the Sheriff’s Office improperly redacted and withheld 126 records for 246 days. Hoffman is appealing the court on a number of issues he claims mitigated a decrease in the County’s penalty.

Below is the schedule for the full docket:

9:30 a.m.
Case No.: 350436 | State of Washington v. Eduardo Perez
County: Yakima

Case No.: 352919 | Nancy Fechner, et al v. Scott Volyn, dba Volyn Law Firm, et al
County: Chelan

Case No.: 347087 | State of Washington v. Vincente Guizar Figueroa
County: Benton

11:30 a.m.
Case No.: 348067 | State of Washington v. Philip Nolan Lester
County: Okanogan

Case No.: 350916 | Randall Hoffman v. Kittitas County, et al
County: Kittitas

Media contact: Dawn Alford, CWU Department of Public Affairs, 509-963-1484, Dawn.Alford@cwu.edu.