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WA high court expands protections against racism in civil cases | Northwest | lmtribune.com

  
Via:  Nowhere Man  •  2 years ago  •  12 comments

By:   Mike Carter Seattle Times (The Lewiston Tribune)

WA high court expands protections against racism in civil cases | Northwest | lmtribune.com
SEATTLE — The Washington Supreme Court in a powerful, unanimous opinion Thursday ruled that a new trial is the only adequate remedy in civil cases where racial bias was a

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SEATTLE — The Washington Supreme Court in a powerful, unanimous opinion Thursday ruled that a new trial is the only adequate remedy in civil cases where racial bias was a factor in court, finding that "race-based" misconduct can "never be a harmless error."

The opinion is the latest issued by the justices aimed at addressing and removing racism from the state court system.

The court, ruling in a personal injury case resulting from a car crash, concluded that the trial court should have held a hearing to explore the allegations of racial bias raised by the defense, and ordered it back to King County Superior Court for such a hearing and almost certainly a new trial.

The justices, in a 33-page opinion written by Justice Raquel Montoya-Lewis, found that the plaintiff in the case, Janelle Henderson, who is Black, and her Seattle attorney, Vonda Sargent — who is also Black — were both subjected to defense statements that played to racist tropes and suggested impropriety between Henderson and her Black witnesses. Justice Gordon McCloud wrote a separate, concurring opinion that questioned the majority's characterization of some of those statements.

The justices also concluded Superior Court Judge Melinda Young abused her discretion by failing to punish the defense for withholding evidence from Henderson's lawyers before the trial took place.

However, it is the high court's instructions on when such hearings should be held, and what rules should apply in determining whether race played a role in any verdict, that drew a new hard line for Washington judges and lawyers alike.

The opinion states an evidentiary hearing about racial bias must be held if the court is presented with evidence that an "objective observer" — defined by the justices as "someone who is aware that implicit, institutional, and unconscious biases, in addition to purposeful discrimination, have influenced jury verdicts in Washington State" — could conclude racial bias was a factor in a verdict.

Moreover, at the hearing there is a presumption that the verdict resulted from bias until the opposing side can demonstrate it is not, shifting the burden of proof to the accused party.

If it was, the justices said, the trial court must order a new trial, concluding that no race-based error is so small it can be ignored or considered nonreversible.

Sargent, Henderson's attorney, did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.

In June, the justices held that race-based error or misconduct is never harmless in a criminal case, "recognizing that a verdict affected by racism violates fundamental concepts of fairness and equal justice under the law."

"Today, we emphasize that while the legal framework differs in the civil context, the same principle applies in civil matters," Montoya-Lewis wrote. "Racism is endemic, and its harms are not confined to any place, matter or issue."

The justices concluded racism affected Henderson's ability to seek compensation for injuries she suffered when her vehicle was rear-ended by a car driven by Alicia Thompson, who is white.

Thompson acknowledged fault, but refused to compensate Henderson for whiplash, which she claimed exacerbated the symptoms of her Tourette's syndrome, resulting in increased tics and significant pain, according to the court pleadings. Henderson sued in 2017, seeking $3.5 million.

Heather Jensen, who is identified as Thompson's trial attorney in the Superior Court docket, did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.

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The case went to trial in 2019, where the defense portrayed Henderson as "confrontational" and "combative," which the justices said invoked the harmful stereotype of an "angry Black woman,'" and suggested race-based collusion between Henderson and her witnesses — three of whom were Black women who all used the same terminology, "life of the party," to describe Henderson when they testified.

Thompson's counsel alluded to several racist stereotypes about Black women during the closing arguments, including arguing Henderson was exaggerating or fabricating her injuries to "acquire an unearned financial windfall," Montoya-Lewis wrote.

All of this, the justices concluded "invited the jury to make decisions on improper bases like prejudice or biases about race, aggression and victimhood," the opinion says.

The jury returned a verdict of just $9,200, an amount so low that Henderson's attorneys argued it demonstrated that the jury had been influenced by the racist comments.

Other evidence that racism was at play: The jury asked that Henderson leave the courtroom before they returned with a verdict.

The case drew "friend of the court" filings from the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington, Disability Rights Washington, the local chapter of the National Lawyers Guild and the Loren Miller Bar Association, a statewide advocacy and civil rights group made up of Black attorneys.

The opinion quotes liberally from the LMBA brief, with the justices acknowledging racism and prejudice can be aimed at attorneys of color, not just the clients they represent. The brief contains stories from attorneys who "suffered humiliation, condescension, and contempt expressed or allowed by judges in the courtroom."

"This kind of treatment diminishes the legal profession by continuing to tell lawyers of color that their presence seems unusual and surprising," it says.

Seattle attorney Andra Kranzler, who wrote the LMBA brief, said Thursday the ruling will go far in ensuring civil trials in Washington's courts are free from racism and have a strong remedy if it is found.

"This puts the burden on the prevailing party to prove they didn't win due to racism," she said. "We needed this. It is huge. I sat in my car this morning and cried. It felt like we were heard."

___

(c)2022 The Seattle Times

Visit The Seattle Times at www.seattletimes.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.


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Nowhere Man
Junior Participates
1  seeder  Nowhere Man    2 years ago

Well, CRT has made it to the courts.... White litigants have an inherent bias against black litigants that the court must recognize...

Link to original article... (seattle times doesn't allow scraping)

Link to the Washington State Supreme Court opinion....

Oct. 20, 2022 97672-4        iconPDF.gif Henderson v. Thompson

If you doubt that CRT has invaded the Washington Courts, Take a look at Footnote 6 on page 16 of the opinion...

6 For example, racial microaggressions are “often carried out in subtle, automatic, or
unconscious forms,” but their cumulative effects take a toll both psychologically and
physiologically. DANIEL G. SOLÓRZANO & LINDSAY PÉREZ HUBER, RACIAL MICROAGGRESSIONS:
USING CRITICAL RACE THEORY TO RESPOND TO EVERYDAY RACISM 34 (James A. Banks ed.,
2020). “For example, those targeted by everyday racism can become angry or frustrated and
develop feelings of self-doubt; their blood pressure may rise and their heart rate may increase.
Over time, they may develop more serious symptomatic conditions such as hypertension,
depression, and anxiety.” Id. at 42 (citations omitted) (citing studies). “Some studies have
attributed more fatal conditions such as cardiovascular disease and even increased morbidity to
race-related stressors such as microaggressions.” Id. at 43 (citing studies).
7 The term “dog whistle” refers to speaking in code to a target audience, where the use of
coded language permits the speaker to claim plausible deniability as to that objective. IAN HANEY
LÓPEZ, DOG WHISTLE POLITICS: HOW CODED RACIAL APPEALS HAVE REINVENTED RACISM &
WRECKED THE MIDDLE CLASS 4 (2014). See Adam R. Shapiro, The Racist Roots of the Dog
Whistle, WASH. POST, Aug. 21, 2020,
[https://perma.cc/59C3-JKYG], for a discussion of the origins and evolution of this term.

There are now two standards of law in the State of Washington where white litigants have to prove they are non-racist as part of their case in chief...

This is where the racist liberals are headed... apartheid in reverse...

 
 
 
Drakkonis
Professor Guide
1.1  Drakkonis  replied to  Nowhere Man @1    2 years ago

And this is why I'm always saying we're doomed as a country. That this is even a thing proves it. We're just circling the drain. 

And NOT incidentally, this is part of what I consider evidence of God. The Bible tells us this is exactly the sort of thing we can expect from those that neither believe in Him or follow Him. Everything in the universe screams at us that it obeys laws and rules but somehow we think we are not subject to rules and can create our own? That truth can be whatever we think it is? And some call that crap 'critical thinking'. Wake up!

 
 
 
JohnRussell
Professor Principal
1.1.1  JohnRussell  replied to  Drakkonis @1.1    2 years ago

How do you know that God is not in favor of CRT ? 

 
 
 
Drinker of the Wry
Senior Expert
1.1.2  Drinker of the Wry  replied to  JohnRussell @1.1.1    2 years ago

Tell the truth, do you believe in God, JR?

 
 
 
JohnRussell
Professor Principal
1.1.3  JohnRussell  replied to  Drinker of the Wry @1.1.2    2 years ago

i do

 
 
 
Drinker of the Wry
Senior Expert
1.1.4  Drinker of the Wry  replied to  JohnRussell @1.1.3    2 years ago

Good for you JR, stand firm against the NT tide.

 
 
 
Drakkonis
Professor Guide
1.1.5  Drakkonis  replied to  JohnRussell @1.1.1    2 years ago
How do you know that God is not in favor of CRT ? 

Because CRT is not in favor of God. 

 
 
 
Nowhere Man
Junior Participates
2  seeder  Nowhere Man    2 years ago

[Deleted]

 
 
 
Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Expert
2.2  Perrie Halpern R.A.  replied to  Nowhere Man @2    2 years ago

Meta was removed from this thread for no value.

 
 

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