On April 20, a Clark County District Court jury needed only 18 minutes to decide our client was not guilty of fourth-degree assault domestic violence. Our client, a 19-year-old mother, admitted during her trial that she became hysterical last fall when the father of her seven-month-old baby was preparing to leave with the baby in his mother’s vehicle that was equipped only with a front-facing car seat built for toddlers and not the rear-facing type of car seat recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. But she did not, she said, hit her ex-boyfriend in the face, as he and his mother had claimed to Clark County sheriff’s deputies who responded to the 911 call. During jury selection, defense attorney Katie Kauffman asked potential jurors about how far they would go to protect a child from a potentially dangerous situation.
While Kauffman went to trial with a solid defense, the prosecution had numerous problems. The alleged victim’s mother has a criminal history, which was relevant and allowed into evidence because jurors can consider the trustworthiness of a witness who has been convicted of “crimes of dishonesty.” In this case, grandma had a misdemeanor conviction for theft. Jurors also heard that she has a felony conviction, but weren’t told the specific crime.
The felony conviction was for child endangerment, which our client knew about last fall when she was panicking that her ex’s mother was about to drive away with the baby in an inadequate car seat. The jury, which consisted of three men and three women, also heard that under a court-ordered permanent parenting plan the alleged victim is only allowed to see his baby for four hours at a time, twice a week. Kauffman told the jurors to think about who had motive to make up the story, especially given the permanent parenting plan was signed by a judge shortly before the alleged assault.
The alleged victim and his mother kept changing their stories, and the alleged victim was at times sullen and sarcastic under cross-examination.
Our client admitted that she was hysterical about the car seat, and said she offered to let her ex use her car seat but he ignored her and told his mother to just drive away. A neighbor testified for the defense that he was 100 yards away and went to his window after hearing shouting. He said he watched the incident and didn’t see any physical contact between our client and the alleged victim.
Fourth-degree assault domestic violence carries a maximum sentence of 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine.
Vancouver Defenders
2300 Main St. Vancouver, WA 98660
360-906-7234
Hours
Monday - Thursday
8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM to 4:00 PM
