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Full-Text Articles in Law
Legislative History In Washington, Arthur C. Wang
Legislative History In Washington, Arthur C. Wang
Seattle University Law Review
This Comment begins with an examination of court usage of Washington State legislative history and illustrates the lack of consistent judicial standards for acceptance of evidence of legislative intent. It then describes a systematic process that lawyers may use to identify and obtain relevant legislative history in Washington, and at the same time, points out defects in the record-keeping system. It concludes with recommendations to the Washington State Legislature to improve the accessibility and usefulness of state legislative history. Adoption of these recommendations would not only aid the legal researcher, but also provide the legislature with a better means to …
Inculpatory Statements Against Penal Interest: State V. Parris Goes Too Far, James E. Beaver, Cheryl Mccleary
Inculpatory Statements Against Penal Interest: State V. Parris Goes Too Far, James E. Beaver, Cheryl Mccleary
Seattle University Law Review
This article first demonstrates that courts historically did not trust penal interest statements in general, and that courts were extremely suspicious of any statements by a third party that implicated the defendant. Since Washington adopted Federal Rule of Evidence 804(b)(3) verbatim, this article then analyzes the legislative history of the rule. The article concludes that the legislative history favored exclusion of inculpatory statements but that Congress failed to codify the exclusion because of unrelated problems. Finally, the article discusses the confrontation clause problems that arise when inculpatory statements are allowed into evidence. This article argues that the Parris holding should …