Legal Blog

I am continuing the article regarding Clark County, Washington’s improved Mental Health Court, starting with qualifying felonies and continuing forward, victim input, restitution, crimogenic  risk factors and referral and intake process. ​C. Qualifying Felonies A felony with a Sentencing Reform Act (SRA) Seriousness Level that does not exceed Level III. The defendant’s offender score must be 9 points or less.

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As a criminal defense attorney in Vancouver (Clark County), Washington who has successfully handled a wide-ranging array of criminal cases, ranging from Disorderly Conduct to Attempted Murder in the Second Degree. I have encountered mental health issues throughout my practice involving my clients that were relevant both to potential defenses (insanity and diminished capacity) as well as mitigation (a justification

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(n) If the court expressly finds based on the evidence that contact between the parent and the child will not cause physical, sexual, or emotional abuse or harm to the child and that the probability that the parent’s or other person’s harmful or abusive conduct will recur is so remote that it would not be in the child’s best interests

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This article is part two involving limitations of a parent’s time with their child as stated under RCW 26.09.191.  We continue the article by discussing the rebuttable presumption for parents or the person(s) they live with that have been convicted of certain sex offenses.  As this is a very technical part of the law, the statute is essentially given to

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As a family law/divorce attorney in Vancouver, Clark County, WA, I am frequently asked in the course of my work how to limit the parenting plans for the other parent.  Washington law proscribes situations where the parenting time with a child can be limited by the court for a parent.  To be clear, these are very limited and specific circumstances

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As a family law/divorce attorney in Vancouver, Clark County, WA, I am frequently asked about how someone with a domestic violence history may be treated by the court when in a custody battle, i.e. trying to establish a parenting plan.  Well under RCW 26.09.191 proven domestic violence can greatly impact a parent’s time with their child or children in a

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In my capacity as a criminal defense/assault attorney in Vancouver, WA, in a recent article I wrote, I detailed the use of self-defense in Assault in the Fourth Degree and Assault in the Fourth Degree Domestic Violence cases, using a recent jury trial I had won to illustrate the criminal defense aspect of self-defense in Washington.  If you are successful

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I recently won a jury trial for Assault in the 4th Degree Domestic Violence based upon a theory of self-defense. The specific situation involved one spouse who reasonably believed that he was about to be injured based upon the actions and statements of the other spouse. While the other spouse did not actually injure my client, the circumstances presented a

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As a criminal defense attorney in Vancouver, Clark County, WA that handles a wide-variety of criminal defense cases ranging from: Attempted Murder, Vehicular Homicide, Felon Strike Offenses, DUI, Domestic Violence Offenses, Sexual Assaults, Drug Offenses, Theft and other criminal defense matters. In my experience, I have seen the State prosecution do things in the late stages of moving a case

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How Prior Inconsistent Statements Can Torpedo The Prosecution’s Case As a criminal defense attorney in Vancouver, WA, who defends people accused of crimes, the evaluation and ability to discredit the evidence of the prosecution is a critically important skill that is vital to my ability to successfully defend those accused of crimes.  I do not care if you have a

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