Pro Tem judges
Washington Supreme Court
Torts – Jailers have a special relationship with incarcerated people and a duty to ensure their health, welfare, and safety, under common law and tort law. However, these duties do not prevent the county from raising the felony defense (RCW 4.24.420) or the intoxication defense (RCW 5.40.060). Here, a jail inmate smuggled heroin into the jail and gave it to another inmate who ingested it and died. The deceased inmate’s estate sued the county for negligence. The trial court erred in holding the county could not raise the felony defense, or the intoxication defense. Anderson v. Grant County, No. 103111-4 (Mar. 5, 2026) https://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/1031114.pdf
Division III
Jury instructions – A court does not commit constitutional error by giving an aggravating circumstance instruction that fails to say the burglary must start before the killing (for purposes of finding the burglary elevates the murder to aggravated murder). The sequencing language in the pattern instruction is not a separate element, it merely clarifies the element “in the course of, in furtherance of, or in immediate flight from …” Thus, failure to include the sequencing language is non-constitutional error, and failure to object waives the error. State v. Ault, No. 40421-8-III (March 3, 2026) https://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/404218_pub.pdf
Ineffective assistance – An ineffective assistance of counsel claim requires a showing that there is a reasonable probability that the result of the proceeding would have been different, but-for the errors. If the defendant argues that two factual scenarios are equally likely, one of which results in prejudice to the defendant and one that does not, then the defendant has necessarily failed to meet the burden. State v. Ault, No. 40421-8-III (March 3, 2026) https://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/404218_pub.pdf
Ethics Opinion
Pro tem judges – Defense attorneys should not serve as pro tem judges in criminal cases in district courts in the same county where the defense attorney routinely practices in the superior court because that would undermine public confidence in the impartiality of the judiciary. Ethics Advisory Committee Opinion 26-01 https://www.courts.wa.gov/content/publicupload/eclips/2026%2002%2026%20Ethics%20Advisory%20Committee%20Opinion%2026%2001.pdf
Attorney General’s Office Opinion
Juvenile court records – Court clerks may not require the Office of Public Defense (OPD) or the Office of Civil Legal Aid (OCLA) to file notices of appearance as a precondition to records access under RCW 13.50.010(13) and (14). Such a requirement would conflict with the legislative intent of those statutes and the agencies’ statutory prohibition from providing direct client representation. AGO 2026 No. 1 – Feb 25 2026 https://www.atg.wa.gov/ago-opinions/juvenile-courts-court-clerk-records-statutes-statutory-obligation-provide-office