Drug abuse and drug addiction, including prescription drug abuse and driving under the influence of drugs, all continue to be major social and legal problems. That is one reason why the criminal justice system in this state is so harsh on drug crimes and imposes such stiff penalties on those offenders who sell and distribute [...]

What are the state of Washington’s laws regarding theft? How does theft differ from robbery or burglary in this state? Could you be wrongly accused of committing a theft in the Seattle area? Legally speaking in our state, robbery, burglary, and theft are three distinct and different crimes. Each is very precisely defined. For example, [...]

If you are charged with illegally possessing drugs in the state of Washington, how will a prosecutor prove that you in fact “possessed” the illegal drugs? It’s more complicated than you may think, and innocent people are sometimes charged with illegally possessing drugs that are not actually theirs. If you’re innocent – or even if [...]

Anyone may be accused – even mistakenly – of committing a crime. We’ll discuss what everyone needs to know about being arrested, posting bail, and obtaining an attorney’s help in this state. If you are placed under arrest and accused of a misdemeanor or a felony in the state of Washington, the first thing you [...]

If a jury of your peers convicts you of committing a crime in the state of Washington, is that necessarily the end of the case? Can you appeal a conviction by a group of jurors? What if you accepted a guilty plea - can you appeal it? Keep reading - you are about to get [...]

If you are placed on trial for a crime in the state of Washington, or if you're asked to testify at a trial, and you are in the United States without documentation, should a jury know your immigration status? A new and unique evidence rule in this state will make the details of someone's immigration [...]

In the state of Washington, can a police officer search your cell phone? Like everything else in the law, the answer is "It depends." In some circumstances, the police may search your cell phone, but in others, they may not. What is the law, and what have the courts determined regarding cell phone searches? If [...]

Bullies will probably always be a fixture in our schools and on our playgrounds, but when bullies go online to commit cyberbullying, in most states, they will be breaking the law. Keep reading to learn how lawmakers across the country are responding to the growing concerns about cyberbullying, how to deal with cyberbullying if it [...]

If you are accused of any crime in the state of Washington, you should understand precisely what criminal penalties you may be facing, and you should also know the difference between parole and probation. Many people in Washington may not realize that, in the strictest legal sense, there is no such thing as parole in [...]

In the state of Washington, if you are charged with driving under the influence, one way to keep the charge off your record may be a "deferred prosecution." A deferred prosecution happens when the state agrees to withhold the prosecution of a DUI defendant in return for that defendant's pledge to complete a two-year alcohol, [...]