On December 4, 2025, the Washington State Supreme Court published Order No 25700-A-1679 which amends the language of rule CrR/CrRLJ 3.2. The Court made some modification to the language proposed by the defense organizations pushing for the rule change. The "interfering with the administration of justice" language has been eliminated and replaced with more specific conduct: "will seek to intimidate or threaten a witness, victim, or court employee, or tamper with evidence or violate a civil or criminal protection order, criminal no contact order, or family law restraining order, and/or conditions of release that protect the safety of alleged victims, witnesses, and the community. The change is effective upon publication.

It would be wise for prosecutors to amend the language used in court to fall within the new rule language where applicable. 

but wait.....there's more!

On the same day, the Washington State Supreme Court also published Order No 25700-A-1676, which provides notice under GR9(g) of suggested amendments to the same rule for 2026. This proposed amendment is also offered by the same defense organizations. The proposal attacks judicial discretion with regard to the meaning of "likely failure to appear." The proposal reads in part: 

Purpose: Replace the CrR/CrRLJ 3.2 standard of “likely failure to appear” with “high likelihood of willful flight from prosecution”; require at least one failure to appear before bail can be imposed under the newly amended “willful flight” prong; enact a $200 cap on bond and warrant amounts for most misdemeanor offenses when a finding is made under the newly amended “willful flight” prong; amend CrR/CrRLJ 2.2 regarding the failure to appear and administration of justice prongs; in both CrR/CrRLJ 3.2 and 2.2, enact strong presumption for deposit of a sum not to exceed 10% of the set bail with the clerk of the court. Comments may be sent to the following

These changes are not yet approved. The Supreme Court has called for comment on the proposal. Comments are due by April 30, 2026. addresses: P.O. Box 40929, Olympia, Washington 98504-0929, or supreme@courts.wa.gov. Comments submitted by e-mail message must be limited to 1500 words.

Please consider making your voice heard and submitting comment on the proposed rule change. 

Information on all Rule-Related Court Order is available on line at Courts.wa.gov. 

~TSRPs Michelle and Brad

Notice From DOL Regarding CCDRs

Currently DOL is experiencing a backlog in processing CCDR requests. We are asking for your assistance in helping eliminate duplicated requests so we can catch up. As of today, we are working on CCDRs received on November 12, 2025 with 1,320 requests in the queue.

If you requested a CCDR after November 12, 2025, please do not send an additional request. We are working hard to get these caught up and duplicated requests add processing time.

If you have questions or concerns, Contact Carla Weaver at DOL below:

Carla Weaver

Law and Justice Program Manager

Department of Licensing | dol.wa.gov

cweaver@dol.wa.gov

Cheers!  Brad & Michelle

MORE INFO FOUND HERE

 Kratom vs. Gas Station Heroin

For years we've seen Kratom products on the convenience store counters of our more rural areas here in Washington but recently - and it might be anecdotal for me here in Seattle - we're seeing it pop-up in our dry bottle shops and boutique "lifestyle" beverage stores as well.  Some recent pieces in the San Francisco Chronicle and other publications have raised the alarm when comes to both Kratom products and those derived from 7-OH (or what we call "gas station heroin").  Having access to synth drugs at the convenience store isn't a new concept.  I remember back in 2007ish when I lived in North Carolina, many of the gas stations in my neighborhood sold Spice or some other synth drug right next to the hangover cures, Doublemint Gum, and snake oil ED pills.  What's important to note here is that these products are mostly unregulated and the labels shouldn't even be trusted.  Here's a great piece in the Free Press about the battle between the Kratom lobby and the 7-OH lobby for market share and the noise obscuring the potential health effects of each.  Roadside convenience doesn't equal roadside safety.

Read the Article HERE

ACCESS THE REGISTRATION LINK HERE

Join state TSRP, Bradley Lane, for his biannual update on recent legislation and case law developments which might affect impaired driving litigation and investigations here in Washington state.  Brad routinely presents this update to many audiences throughout the state from impaired driving enforcers, prosecutors, political appointees, and executive-level impaired driving stakeholders.  This event is hosted by your State Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor, Bradley Lane, the Seattle City Attorney's office, the WA Traffic Safety Commission and is pending-eligible for WSBA CLE credit.

This is virtual event (unless you're present at SCAO) - you will receive the TEAM's webinar link upon successful event registration

DOWNLOAD YOUR FALL 2025 NEWSLETTER HERE

IN THIS EDITION:

• Your New DUI Bench Book is Out!
• Can You Get a DUI on That?
• Upcoming Training Opportunities & National Webinar Series
• Proximate Cause in the Deliberative Process
• Updates from our Law and Justice Partners
• Resources and Manuals

Enjoy!

Brad & Michelle

The newest edition of the DUI Bench Book is now available for download in the Manuals and Resources section of this website. Here is a link to a copy. Many thanks to Judge Portnoy and all of the contributing authors who put this resource together for our use. Please reach out to Brad and Michelle if you need anything and do not forget to register for Fall DUI Bootcamp in lovely Yakima County Oct 6-10, 2025.  

State v. Sliger (103563-2) - Supreme Court Oral Argument Announcement

*The Mouth Check Case from Div-III*

For the first time in a long time, one of our Breath Test prima facie foundation cases is up before the state supreme court and this *hopefully* clarifies what a compliant mouth check looks like.  If you've attended one of my case law updates over the past year, you've heard me lecture on this case from Division-III.  What happens when your officer conducts a mouth check with BOTH the verbal and visual methods and gets conflicting information?  What happens when the breath test is administered even though the suspect has "strands of tobacco" lodged in his teeth?  We all know that studies show that this won't affect the test and our BrAC Tech, Trooper John Axtman, testified that it "wouldn't give him any heartache" - Division-III agreed with us but the defendant persists.

This one is worth a watch and hopefully it'll give us some jurisprudence to point to on this issue.  My slide on the Div-III opinion is below.

Cheers!

Brad & Michelle

National Night Out is August 5th - join in your neighborhood festivities.

This national event, supported by local law enforcement agencies, aims to raise awareness about crime prevention, foster community support in combating crime, and strengthen neighborhood bonds. In Seattle, the Seattle Police Department's Crime Prevention unit plays a key role in promoting this initiative.

In my neighborhood, we come together by blocking off the streets, firing up the barbecues, and enjoying activities like street hockey. It's a wonderful opportunity to connect with neighbors and show solidarity in promoting crime prevention efforts.

To find the nearest National Night Out event in your area, reach out to your local law enforcement officials. If you're in Seattle, you can check out the event map provided by the Seattle Police Department's Crime Prevention team here: https://www.seattle.gov/police/crime-prevention/night-out

Join us for a night of community building and law enforcement awareness. Let's make our neighborhoods safer and stronger together!

-Brad & Michelle

The 2025 TSRP Lethal Weapon beings Monday 7/28 at 1pm at the Kirkland PD!  While Michelle and I iron-out the fine details (like who brings the doughnuts), feel free to peruse the new faculty line-up and the agenda!

FACULTY LINE-UP

LETHAL WEAPON AGENDA