The Washington State Court of Appeals is divided into three divisions. The divisions are separated geographically; one in the west, one in the central and one in the east part of the state. As you might expect, the courts somewhat reflect the political leanings of the geographical areas they cover. The court in the west has a tendency to view things from a little different perspective than the other two, which are considered by some to be a bit more conservative.

The appellate courts are supposed to be there to catch things when the trial courts make a mistake and get it wrong. Trial courts have to make decisions quickly, sometimes in a moment during a trial or without the opportunity to study and make a fully considered decision. The appellate courts can take their time, study a problem from all angles and then decide. That is what they are supposed to do. But a recent decision in one of the divisions of the Court of Appeals challenges this notion completely.

Recently, Division 1 (the Court of Appeals in the west) has made a decision that is contrary to a long line of cases, is all about form over substance, and will take years for the Supreme Court to correct. Till it is corrected, Law Enforcement will have to comply and do unnecessary things and another loophole for criminals to slip through has been created. The end result will be that justice will suffer till it is corrected. Lets hope it is corrected.

The taking of blood from a person suspected of a crime requires a search warrant. That is old law and protects citizens. No problem with that. Now, however, Division 1 has held in a case that a second and separate search warrant is required to actually test the blood at the lab. So, two warrants are now required, one to get the blood and another to test it. What a foolish and unnecessary step. If blood is lawfully obtained by a warrant, there should be no question that it can be tested for alcohol, illegal drugs, or substances that prove the one of the aspects of the crime. After all, the entire purpose of a blood draw is for the blood to be tested, not just to determine what color it is.

This is more evidence of a court system gone off the rails; defendant rights protected over victims, clear convictions reversed on technical errors, endless appeals allowed by the court, taking decades to decide serious cases.

Of course, this only my opinion and I may be wrong. But I think the people deserve better than this. Some common sense would help, but in the rarified atmosphere of the high courts, perhaps there is not enough oxygen.