Category Archives: Live Blog

LIVE BLOG: State Supreme Court Hears Kitsap Case Regarding Medical Pot in the Workplace

THE CASE BACKGROUND: Jane Roe (not her real name) was fired from TeleTech in East Bremerton in 2007 because she failed a drug test. However, she was legally using marijuana as medicine under state law to treat migraine headaches. She sued after losing her job.

The case was thrown out of Kitsap County Superior Court. It was appealed by Roe’s attorneys to the court of appeals, who ruled that the state’s medical marijuana act does not protect patients in employment situations.

This morning, the state’s supreme court will hear from attorneys on both sides and debate this issue: does the state’s medical marijuana law provide any protection to legal medical marijuana patients in the workplace? We’ll cover it live beginning at 10:30 a.m.

I’ve also posted the video here, via TVW, of the arguments so you can also hear them for yourself.

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LIVE BLOG: Kitsap County Traffic Court

THE BACKGROUND: A deputy prosecutor will stand in on behalf of the state in Kitsap County’s traffic court for the first time this afternoon.

The move was a part of Kitsap County Prosecutor Russ Hauge’s plan to boost revenues during the county’s budget discussions last fall. He told the county commissioners having a prosecutor to help present the case of the police who wrote the ticket could lead to about $148,000 in additional revenue.

Up until now, Hauge told the commissioners that “if you know the magic words to say,” tickets would be dismissed without an argument from prosecutors — because no prosecutor was ever in court.

Another program aimed at relicensing motorists charged with suspended driving — before almost always reduced to a $124 ticket — also begins today. Drivers will now face a $250 fine under a so-called “diversion” program. The good news for defendants, however, is it is a pathway to becoming licensed again, prosecutors argued. That program could bring in more than $356,000, Hauge argued to commissioners.

The programs only affect Ktsap County District Court — not in courts in Poulsbo, Port Orchard, Bremerton or Bainbridge Island.

A story about the first day of the two programs will be posted later today.

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Closing Arguments in the Mustard Trial

CASE BACKGROUND: Closing arguments are slated this morning in the trial of Daniel J. Mustard, 19, accused of stabbing to death 87-year-old Ruby Andrews in South Kitsap on April 5, 2009.

The trial has largely revolved around Mustard’s mental state at the time of the crime. Jurors will be asked to decide whether he knew the nature and quality of his act on that day. Jurors will be asked to consider whether he could form the intent of his actions due to “involuntary intoxication” or “diminished capacity.”

He faces a life sentence if convicted of first-degree premeditated murder or a commitment at Western State Hospital if acquitted.

Closing arguments are slated to start about 9:30 a.m. or so.

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LIVE BLOG: Dr. Dietz Testifies for Kitsap Prosecutors in PO Murder Trial

CASE BACKGROUND: A nationally known forensic psychologist is expected to testify today that a South Kitsap teen wasn’t legally insane when he killed an 87-year-old woman in April 2009.

Kitsap County Prosecutors plan to call Dr. Park Dietz to the stand in their first-degree murder case against Daniel J. Mustard. It’s been a long time coming; the trial has already been going since late September.

There is no argument between the attorneys involved of the fact that Mustard stabbed Andrews to death at her South Kitsap home on April 5, 2009. The contention is whether Mustard was insane under the state’s legal definition at the time of the crime.

Mustard’s attorney, Bryan Hershman, has already has already called to the stand a doctor who testified that Mustard was indeed insane when he killed Andrews.

We’ll begin the live blog at 9 a.m.

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LIVE BLOG: Opening Arguments in the Mustard Murder Trial

CASE BACKGROUND: A 19-year-old South Kitsap man goes on trial today for the aggravated murder of 87-year-old Ruby Andrews in April 2009, following almost two weeks of jury selection.

Opening arguments are slated in the case of Daniel James Mustard this morning.

Mustard, 17 at the time of the incident, is accused of stabbing and robbing Andrews in her Colchester home on April 5, 2009. He is being tried as an adult.

The case hinges on Mustard’s mental state at the time of the offense.

Prosecutors are slated to argue that Mustard knew right from wrong when he killed Andrews. But Bryan Hershman, Mustard’s attorney, will attempt to sway jurors that Mustard was either insane or had “diminished capacity” — that he couldn’t fully comprehend his actions — at the time of the killing.

The Kitsap Sun will carry a live blog of the opening arguments when they begin at 10:30 a.m. this morning.

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LIVE BLOG: Wife’s Testimony at PO Murder Trial

Background on the case:

Henry Paul Musgrove III, 31, will face second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in the death of his wife’s daughter, 23-month-old Izabell Davis-Hull.

His wife, Amber Lyn Musgrove, has accepted an offer of immunity from prosecutors, in exchange for her testimony in the case, said Cami Lewis, one of two Kitsap County deputy prosecutors handling the case.

A two-year investigation by Port Orchard Police detectives resulted in the arrest of both Henry and Amber Musgrove. Both were initially charged with crimes related to the toddler’s death, but Amber Musgrove’s charges will be dropped if she completes her agreement to testify, Lewis said.

This morning is Amber Musgrove’s testimony.

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LIVE BLOG: Opening Arguments in Port Orchard Murder Trial

Opening arguments in the trial of a former Port Orchard man accused of killing a 23-month-old toddler are slated for this afternoon.

Henry Paul Musgrove III, 31, faces second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in the death of his wife’s daughter, Izabell Davis-Hull.

Musgrove’s wife, Amber Lyn Musgrove, has accepted an offer of immunity from prosecutors, in exchange for her testimony in the case.

The girl died likely from a blow to the abdomen on February 23, 2008. After a lengthy Port Orchard police investigation, county prosecutors charged both the 31-year-old and his wife with her death. But Amber Musgrove’s charges will be dropped if she completes her agreement to testify, according to prosecutors.

The trial is expected to last between two and three weeks; jury selection has already taken a week.

The live blog is slated to begin at 1:30 p.m. in Kitsap County Superior Court.

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LIVE BLOG: Sentencing of South Kitsap Manslaughter Suspect

This blog will begin at 9 a.m. Monday morning.

Here’s some background on the case.

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