Court of Appeals hears bid for discretionary review in burglary prosecution

Division 2 of the Court of Appeals of the State of Washington heard oral argument on July 29 on a motion for discretionary review in Case number 6, the first matter on the docket.

Respondent counsel, appearing for the state, told the court that the central question was whether the court should accept review, not the merits of the underlying conviction. "As a prosecutor representing the state, the victims are my clients," counsel said, arguing that accepting review now "would materially advance the termination of all the litigation" and could prevent a trial that would otherwise be unnecessary.

Counsel described the underlying factual context as involving two separate burglaries with surveillance evidence and two victim witnesses, including repeated victimization of a business identified in the record as Leeds Farms. The prosecutor estimated the trial would run "about a 2 week trial" if the matter proceeded and said accepting review could conserve resources and spare victims from lengthy court proceedings.

The court asked procedural questions about scheduling and whether an expedited review was warranted. After hearing from both parties, the presiding officer said, "The court will take it out of your advisement and issue a ruling as soon as possible." The matter was then recessed.

This hearing focused on whether the appellate court should exercise its discretion to review a pretrial issue; no final appellate decision was announced during the session.