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Usually, yes. Washington’s ethics rules protect what you tell a lawyer during a consultation, even if you never retain the firm. Jennifer Horwitz Law describes a one-hour consultation as a confidential conversation. Two protections usually apply. Courts have long applied the attorney-client privilege to preliminary conversations about hiring a lawyer, although whether it applies can […]

Often, yes. Washington law imposes no general duty on a detective to tell an employer that a worker is under criminal investigation, and none to tell the worker either. What the law regulates is intrusion, not notice. The limits bite when officers want to record a private conversation or get into places and records you […]

Not automatically. A gap or error in the chain of custody does not by itself make evidence inadmissible in Washington, although a serious enough defect can keep it out. In a chain-of-custody challenge, the court asks a narrower question. Is there enough proof that the item is what the State says it is, and that […]

Yes. In Washington and across the United States, police are generally allowed to lie to you during questioning. An officer can claim to have evidence that does not exist, say that a co-defendant already blamed you, or suggest that talking is your only way out. Courts have permitted these tactics for decades, which is exactly […]

AI-generated images, videos, and audio recordings can potentially be introduced as evidence in a criminal case. However, prosecutors must still demonstrate that the evidence is authentic, reliable, and relevant before a court will consider it. As artificial intelligence becomes more advanced, concerns about manipulated digital evidence are growing. In domestic violence cases, where allegations may […]