Last week I shared with you a recent Court of Appeals decision that has impacted our ability to prosecute persons charged with Driving While License Suspended. Driving While License Suspended in the Third degree is one such offense that was impacted by the decision. A person’s license often becomes suspended in the Third Degree when […]

SPOKANE, A 57-year-old Chattaroy, Washington man convicted of First-Degree Murder last month was discovered dead in his Spokane County Jail cell early Monday. Christopher H. Devlin was convicted of aggravated murder in a lengthy Stevens County trial that ended August 18th. On September 15th, he was sentenced to life in prison. Corrections deputies last saw […]

The internet, and the ability to instantly transfer money has advantages, but there are scams operating that can result in the loss of money, if people are not careful. In recent weeks, we have received reports of scams that have taken advantage of people and cost them money. Most are based on the concept that […]

Valley Victory To follow up on a previous article: I was happy to find out that the problem caused by a mistake in the zoning map in the town of Valley has been resolved and the community project there was allowed to go forward. The sponsors of the project, Dennis and Dawn Dawson, finally received […]

On Tuesday, August 17, Judge Nielson heard a motion which had been filed in the Cosby case. Mr. Mike Clay, representing Craig Cosby, made a motion to withdraw from representing Mr. Cosby. He cited a breakdown in communication that made him unable to represent Mr. Cosby effectively. The court granted his motion and signed an […]

On July 20 and July 21, two more child sex offenders were sentenced in the Superior Court in Stevens County. David William Hutson Jr., DOB 9/16/1988, was sentenced on a charge of Rape of a Child in the Second Degree. Several years ago, when he was seventeen, he engaged in a sexual relationship with a […]

Regarding the bar grievance recently made public: My wife Annette and I became acquainted with an orphanage in Guatemala operated by International Children’s Care when we traveled with volunteers to drill a water well on the orphanage property in 2004. Until that time, the children and staff only had contaminated river water to drink. When […]

People have inquired about the plea bargaining process and why this should be done at all. The simple fact is that there are not enough court time and juries to try all the cases. Having people plead guilty and accept responsibility for their conduct is the only way the large number of cases can be […]

There have been some changes in the state which may solve the problems that have affected DUI prosecutions for the past three years. First, there was a problem with a supervisor at the lab who was discovered to have been lying about the testing and certification of the simulator solution used in the breath test […]

I was passing through Valley last week and noticed there have been some changes in this little town. Where the old tavern building used to stand, there is a caboose on rails, a new bathroom, a picnic table shelter and a building part way in place. This will be a place where families can be […]