Monthly Archives: January 2019

What? No Police Department?

SQ Attorneys

One way to make a community unsafe is to excommunicate its police department, and that is exactly what a small town mayor did in Okanogan County in Eastern Washington. The mayor disbanded the entire Tonasket Police Department a few weeks back. It started with a complaint that the mayor was racist because he told an… Continue Reading »

Pretrial Motions Explained

After the preliminary hearing and before a criminal case goes to trial, the prosecutor and the defense attorney usually appear before a criminal court judge and make pretrial motions — arguments that certain evidence should be kept out of the trial, that certain persons must or cannot testify, or that the case should be dismissed… Continue Reading »

A Teaching Moment Gone Awry

We can all agree that teaching your child ‘life lessons’ is important for their overall development. That said, there are limits, and on January 13, 2019, a 48 year old Kentucky mother certainly exceeded the bounds of reasonableness when she allegedly drove drunk with her son in the car as some sort of teaching moment.… Continue Reading »

DUI and Background Checks

A DUI conviction, or even an impaired driving charge that does not end in a conviction, may negatively impact one’s career, particularly if an offender holds a commercial driver’s license (CDL) or is required to drive as part of his or her job. An employer may choose to conduct background checks on current or prospective… Continue Reading »

General DUI Overview

A DUI arrest is always preceded by a traffic stop, whether the police officer suspects drunk driving or has stopped a motorist for an unrelated reason, such as a burned-out taillight. While the Fourth Amendment protects citizens from unlawful search and seizure, refusing to cooperate with an officer typically is not in the best interests… Continue Reading »

Collateral Consequences

SQ Attorneys

On January 15, 2019 an article was written in the Seattle Times entitled, “New milestone in King County: Immigrant count tops 500,000”. The article noted that there was a population surge in the county and that foreign-born residents accounted for a whopping 49 percent of the growth since 2010. In like kind with this foreign-born… Continue Reading »

A Call with Consequences

SQ Attorneys

A week after ringing in the New Year, a Seattle man was arrested and booked into jail after he admitted to stabbing his brother to death in a home in the Fremont area of North Seattle. The man called SPD saying he killed his sibling. Based on this call, the Seattle police descended onto the… Continue Reading »

Cop Cars with Slogans

SQ Attorneys

In the State of Michigan, a city Police Department (the City of Roseville) has come up with a novel and progressive idea for promoting domestic violence prevention/ awareness. Earlier this month the department unveiled the newest car to its fleet of police vehicles. The vehicle is unique because it has a decal on its side… Continue Reading »

Steps to Take When Being Pulled Over

Let’s face it, each and every driver will eventually get pulled over by law enforcement at some point in their lives. The following are a few things to keep in mind after law enforcement initiates contact. The first thing to do is to pull over quickly and safely, letting the police officer know you understand… Continue Reading »

Is Washington Far Behind?

As 2019 roles in, Utah is one of the first states to implement a stricter drunk driving law, lowering the legal limit to .05. Most all states, including Washington, are at a .08 for blood alcohol content. So that begs the question, is Washington state on the verge of lowering its blood alcohol level requirements?… Continue Reading »