NACDL - Washington v. Gates

Washington v. Gates

Memorandum of Amici Curiae the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Coalition for Prior Conviction Impeachment Reform in Support of Petition for Review

Washington v. Gates

Brief Details

Case No.: 102534-3
Brief Filed: January 16, 2024
Jurisdiction: Supreme Court of the State of Washington

Key Topics in the Brief

Fifth Amendment | Racial Disparity | Sixth Amendment | Implicit Bias | Right to Testify | Disparate Impact | Prior Conviction Impeachment | Right to Trial

Briefs

Washington-v-Gates-Brief.pdf

Prior Decision

Decision below State v. Gates, No. 83243-3-I (Wash. Ct. App. Oct. 9, 2023)

Argument(s)

ER 609, which allows for the impeachment of witnesses using prior convictions, poses a high risk of unfair prejudice, especially given that the historical precedent set by Ray, which deemed prior theft crimes as indicative of truthfulness, is now considered outdated and contradicted by current empirical research. Revisiting Ray and re-evaluating the broader practice of using prior convictions for impeachment is supported by both legal precedent and evolving legal momentum.

Author(s)

Robin Wechkin, NACDL, Issaquah, WA, Monica Milton, NACDL, Washington, DC, Julia Simon-Kerr, University of Connecticcut School of Law, Hartford, CT, Anna Roberts, Brooklyn, NY