Domestic violence and sexual assault convictions (among others) can have particularly onerous consequences for noncitizen defendants. They can also be a key element for a noncitizen seeking to establishing eligibility for numerous forms lawful immigration status, such as a U visa, that are available to undocumented crime survivors.  A key defense against such charges can be to establish bias or prejudice of witness on the basis that the facts provided to support the criminal allegations are not credible because they are motivated in order to obtain lawful immigration status. In 2017 the Washington Supreme Court established a new evidence rule – ER 413. The new rule places new requirements on defense counsel to bring such a defense. Under the rule, defense counsel must: 1. Submit a written pretrial motion that includes an offer of proof of the relevancy of the proposed evidence, and 2. The motion shall be accompanied by an affidavit or affidavits stating the offer of proof. Once submitted, there are numerous procedures determining if and how the evidence may be presented.

Presented by WDA’s Senior Directing Attorney, Annie Benson, this webinar will bring defendants up to speed on the substance and procedures outlined in ER 413. It will also discuss advocacy strategies and best practices. Third, it will review the model motions and practice advisory provided by WDA.

To register, email wda@defensenet.org with ER413 in the subject line. 1.0 Law and Legal credit has been requested from the WSBA for this program.