WEEKLY ROUNDUP FOR THE WEEK OF JULY 14, 2025
Washington Supreme Court:
Offender score – The term, “out-of-state convictions” as used in RCW 9.94A.525, is ambiguous because it could mean either “in another U.S. state” or “anywhere outside the borders of Washington.” Therefore, the rule of lenity applies and convictions from outside the United States may not be included in the offender score. State v. Lewis, No. 102910-1 (July 17, 2025).
Foreign case of interest:
Curtilage – A portion of a home’s driveway that is “several dozen feet” from an attached garage, used for parking, not secluded and visible from the street, is not within the curtilage. United States v. Moses, No. 23-3078 (3rd Cir., July 3, 2025).
ABA Formal Opinion:
Jury selection – A lawyer who knows or reasonably should know that the lawyer’s exercise of peremptory challenges constitutes unlawful discrimination in the jury selection process violates Model Rule 8.4(g). It is not “legitimate advocacy” within the meaning of Model Rule 8.4(g) for a lawyer to carry out a trial strategy that would result in unlawful juror discrimination. A lawyer may not follow a client’s directive or accept a jury consultant’s advice or AI software’s guidance to exercise peremptory challenges if the lawyer knows or reasonably should know that the conduct will constitute unlawful juror discrimination. However, a lawyer does not violate Rule 8.4(g) by exercising peremptory challenges on a discriminatory basis where not forbidden by other law. ABA Formal Opinion 517 (July 9, 2025).