Tag Archives: Kitsap County

Bremerton Municipal Court Skypes its First Witness

In the hustle and bustle of these past couple weeks, I didn’t want to forget to mention a technological breakthrough that occurred Friday in Bremerton Municipal Court.

A witness took the virtual stand.

To elaborate, Hsushi Yeh, a Tacoma-based ophthalmologist, was called to the stand to testify to the vision of Mark Lewis. Lewis, a prominent local jazz musician, was convicted of obstructing police Monday, in a trial where his vision was scrutinized.

Yeh couldn’t make it to Bremerton, so Judge James Docter authorized his testimony via Skype. It was a first for the new Bremerton courthouse opened last September.

Could this be a sign of things to come? I’m thinking about the money that could potentially be saved in instances where a witness wouldn’t have to travel sometimes great distances to testify in court.

In Port Orchard, Kitsap County’s district court is already using video appearances from jail so officials don’t have to transport inmates handcuffed together into court.

Kitsap County District Court Administrator Maury Baker said that there are “intense conversations,” amongst the judges about bringing in the capacity to let witnesses testify from afar. He believes the technology would have great benefits and could start in less serious legal arenas, like traffic court. For instance, what if someone from out of state got a ticket here and wanted to fight it — without having to fly back out here?

From there, it could be expanded, likely as long as attorneys on both sides of a case agree to it.

“It’s a brave new world,” he said.

Kitsap County Superior Court Administrator Frank Maiocco said at present, the county’s highest court doesn’t have the technology — a TV with an internet connection — that would make Skyping a witness possible. But he acknowledges that courtrooms in the future could be equipped to make it possible.

Assuming, though, that the judicial powers-that-be are ready for it, he added.

“The technology has changed,” Maiocco said. “The the question is, will the culture?”

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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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Lawsuit: Bainbridge Couple Alleges Assault by Seahawks Fan in Ferry Lot

Blogger’s Note: This is a continuing feature on the blog that will provide synopses to recently filed Kitsap County lawsuits.

A Bainbridge couple is suing a Kitsap County man after an altercation in the island’s ferry parking lot on January 5, 2008 following a Seattle Seahawks game, according to documents filed in Kitsap County Superior Court.

The plaintiffs allege that they’d had dinner in Seattle and were walking off the ferry when they encountered the defendant, who was returning from the city as well after attending a Seahawks game. Plaintiff and defendant did not know each other. The defendant had been drinking, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit claims the defendant “made physical contact” with the husband (in the plaintiffs’ party) and “threw or pushed him to the ground.” When the husband got back on his feet, the defendant allegedly said something like, “You want me to do that again?” the lawsuit said.

The plaintiffs bring several causes of action in the case, including assault, battery and negligence. The husband suffered a fracture of his spine in the incident, the lawsuit alleges, and has “incurred expenses for medical treatment … and has experienced pain, suffering, disability, humiliation, loss of enjoyment of life, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, and other damages all in an amount to be proven at trial.”

The wife in the plaintiff’s party “feared for her physical well-being and safety,” and “suffered emotional distress.”

The plaintiffs did not include an exact amount of money they were seeking.

Kitsap County prosecutors did file an assault charge against the defendant in the lawsuit on Jan. 10, 2008 in Bainbridge Island Municipal Court. But it was later dismissed, according to court staff.

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2010’s Officer-Involved Shootings on the Kitsap Peninsula

On Tuesday night, Bainbridge Island police shot and killed an ax-wielding man, according to the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office.

It’s the fifth time this year that police — on duty or off — on the Kitsap Peninsula have resorted to lethal force. Here are the previous incidents:

In February, Suquamish officers opened fire on a man who drove a car at them on Nelson Street. The shooting was justified, according to the Kitsap County Prosecutor’s Office.

In July, a Poulsbo officer on a traffic stop in Silverdale shot and killed a Bremerton man who police said was reaching for a gun. That shooting was also ruled justified by the prosecutor.

In September, an off-duty Washington State trooper at his home in Olalla shot and killed a man who’d hit him in the head with a steel rod. That shooting remains under investigation.

In early October, a Mason County deputy was hit in the leg with gunfire following a chase in Allyn. Though the investigation is not complete, early reports indicate a deputy had fired a shot at the suspect’s car after he’d begun using it as a “deadly weapon,” according to the sheriff’s office.

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GOOD TIME: The Math Behind the Problem

I’ve heard from a number of people who’ve been confused about how the Kitsap County jail was miscalculating “good time” for inmates.

I have to admit that it took me a number of times to go over the math and get it right myself. But there is an eventual “light bulb” moment that takes place (I promise).

I got an email from reader Cary Edwards this morning. Cary, too, had the same issues I did when I learned about the error.

“I have read your story, ‘good time – bad math’, three times. I am still unclear on why kitsap county jails math was wrong,” he wrote.

So I wrote back with my best explanation.

“I completely understand how you’re confused by the math. I was too, and had to go over it dozens of times.

So, here’s the best explanation I can give you.

Keep in mind that he’s not done with his sentence. He has more time to serve in a state prison.

If a judge had sentenced him to 120 days, the jail would indeed divide that by three to get his “good time.” That means he’d serve 80 days, with 40 days of good time.

But here’s the deal: he’s already done 120 days.

So he needs to get an additional third to get his credit for time off for good behavior. How is that calculated?

By dividing by half, interestingly. But let’s come back to that in a moment.

Let’s say a judge gave someone an 180 day sentence. And they earned their full 1/3 off for good behavior. Divide 180 by 3, and you get 60. So the person would serve 120 days and be credited for 60 days of good time.

Now, if he’d done 120 days already, and had to go off to DOC prison to do more time, that means he’d get that additional third off (60).

To get to that amount mathematically, you would actually take 120 and divided by two (not three) which would give you 60 days of good time — the correct amount.

Clear?”

I also heard from reader Gerry Warren, who did get the math. In fact, he provides an alternative in calculating it:

“Another way to calculate it is to times it by 1.5

Joe serves 15 days. He is credited for good behavior using the 1/3rd rule

15 is 66.66666% of what number? Answer: 22.5

22.5 X .666666 = 15. 15 times what equals 22.5? Answer 1.5. 22.5 divided by 15 = 1.5

Robert Pierce’s 213 days served: 213 X 1.5 = 319.5

Whatever fraction or percentage you use you can figure out the constant for that fraction or percentage (e.g. 1.5 for 1/3)”

I’d like to hear back from others about how they handled the math. Was it confusing? Did it make sense?

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GOOD TIME: ‘I Just Want It Fixed’

Mail from inmates at county jails and state and federal prisons is common in newsrooms, as those on the inside look to reporters to help with legal battles or civil rights violations.

The same is true here at the Kitsap Sun. We review such mail — honestly, word for word — to see if there’s an injustice being done, however big or small. In many cases, the complaints don’t quite add up. In some, a quick phone call or email to the right person is all that’s needed. But sometimes, an inmate raises a concern that calls on us to tell a story.

In May, I got such a letter. His name was Robert “Doug” Pierce, who you can read about in Sunday’s paper or online here. The Kitsap County jail had miscalculated his time off for good behavior — and he was right.

“I just want it fixed so I can come home to my family after my debt is paid to society in full,” Pierce wrote in his letter.

Pierce’s discovery was not only overlooked at the jail and lawyers in the system but at the Department of Corrections — and it set the stage for a change in policy at the Kitsap County jail.

In doing the story, I wanted to examine all aspects of how good time is awarded. Thus, what you’ll find is an explanation of how it works at all levels — federal, state and each of the 39 county jails — and why it is administered in the first place. That included working with and submitting records requests to each of the state’s 37 jails.

We also stumbled upon another interesting facet: that the state’s sunseting of a 50 percent off provision for good time went virtually unnoticed by anyone outside the system.

For the results of our work, click here.

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State Patrol: DUI, Speed Collisions Down in Kitsap County

Here’s some good news about our local highways. Both DUI and speed-related collisions were down in the first half of 2010 as compared to 2009.

Troopers investigated 27 DUI crashes between January and June in 2010; last year, there was 38 during the same time period.

There were 92 speed-related crashes on state highways in the first half of 2010; that’s down from 112 in 2009.

Troopers also pointed out in a press release that while Kitsap County’s residents wear their seat belts 98 percent of the time, they still wrote up 1,414 tickets for that offense in the first half of 2010.

There have been 898 drivers stopped for aggressive driving on highways, troopers said. It is worth noting that the state patrol has three unmarked patrol cars that troopers drive looking exclusively to build criminal cases against aggressive drivers. The team of three is known as the Aggressive Driving and Apprehension Team.

Three people have been killed on state highways in the first half of this year; two were killed in the same period, troopers said.

And as for the second half of the year, the state patrol is hopeful that Marsha Masters, who filled the Kitsap County Target Zero manager position, will help coordination of emphasis patrols between the county’s law enforcement agencies. There are ones planned for the upcoming Kitsap County Fair.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention cell phone tickets. Troopers wrote in June 155 tickets to drivers for cell phone violations; 10 were written for driving while texting.

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The Crime Stats Are Out (How Did Your Community Fare?)

This week, the Washington Association of Sheriff’s and Police Chiefs (WASPC) released their annual report on crime in this state. I’m working today to analyze the numbers and get the thoughts about them from our local law enforcement leaders.

For the county, here’s the overall trends:

  • Violent crime (murder, rape, robbery, assault) in the county fell about four percent, from 1,103 reported incidents to 1,060.
  • Property crime (theft, burglary, ect.) in the county, too, fell almost five percent, from 6,465 incidents to 6,170.

I’ve posted the report below, so you can see for yourself. I’ll be updating this entry throughout the rest of the day with tidbits and stats on each of our communities.

Crime stats overall
Violent crime (rape, robbery, murder, assault)
Property crime (theft, burglary, ect.)

Kitsap County Sheriff

2008            2009     %change
Violent crime       674            682      up, 1.2 percent
Property crime     3,789       3,267    down, 13.8 percent

Bainbridge Island
Violent crime       29             31          up, 6.9 percent
Property crime     324         304         down, 6.2 percent

Bremerton
Violent crime       308            250      down, 18.8 percent
Property crime     1,584       1,718    up, 8.5 percent

Port Orchard
Violent crime       50              52          up, 4 percent
Property crime      465         564         up, 21.3 percent

Poulsbo
Violent crime       42            45              up, 7.1 percent
Property crime      303         317             up, 4.6 percent

Mason County Sheriff
Violent crime       140         133             down, 5 percent
Property crime     1,648       1,578        down, 4.2 percent

CIW2009

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UPDATE: Do Kitsap’s DUI Offenders Wear Anklets Like Lindsay Lohan?

You may have seen the ankle bracelets that are capable of monitoring alcohol consumption. The devices, which measure vapors given off by perspiration, have become increasingly common and have even been spotted on celebrities like Lindsay Lohan.

I was curious if we had any such technology here in Kitsap, so I asked Kitsap County’s district court administrator Maury Baker, who oversees the largest court that handles DUI in the county.

“We have not used these and have been aware of them since they hit the market,” Baker wrote me in an email.

UPDATE: Monday, 9:11 a.m.: I got an email from a local attorney who told me they’re in use in Bainbridge Island and Poulsbo’s municipal courts. I’ll get more info on them today.

I showed Baker an article in the Dallas Morning News about the device’s use in Texas. You can read it here.

But Baker feels Kitsap’s method of monitoring — the ignition interlock device (IID) or “blow and go” — has an advantage over the anklet.

“As the article states, the (ankle) sensor does not stop one from driving drunk,” Baker wrote. “The IID disables the vehicle.”

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Eating Meth is Not Advised (With Multiple Examples)

Turns out that a 19-year-old man taken to Harrison Medical Center for swallowing meth wasn’t the only one last Friday to have gobbled up amphetamines.

In remarkably coincidental fashion, at the same time a suspect ate a gram and a half of meth as Kitsap County Sheriff’s deputies investigated a drug deal, Bremerton police were heading to a Sixth Street cafe for a report of a man trying to steal things from their bathroom.

The cops found him Friday night “sweating profusely,” with the bathroom in a state of disarray. Police reported that he’d told them he’d “smoked a twenty sack and swallowed a forty sack of meth.” He began going into convulsions, officers said.

Darcy Himes, spokeswoman for Harrison Medical Center, said the man was treated and released from the hospital early Saturday morning.

It goes without saying that ingesting meth in any form is risky and dangerous. But eating it? Wikipedia says — and I’d take this with a grain of salt — it’s actually the safest way to ingest it. But from Kitsap’s oddly timed examples here — requiring hospital trips — I’d say we have some anecdotal evidence to refute that.

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