Washington Supreme Court, 1980

The Washington Supreme Court, en banc, affirmed the Court of Appeals' affirmance of Rodney Delmarter's conviction for attempted theft in the first degree. The court rejected his contention that the State had to prove he knew the property he sought to take exceeded $1,500 in value, holding that knowledge of value is…

On reconsideration, the court held that the evidence did not establish first-degree kidnapping and that the jury’s general verdict did not show unanimous agreement that Green committed the remaining predicate offense of rape.

The Washington Supreme Court held that the comparative negligence statute does not apply to strict products liability actions, affirmed that strict liability extends to the plaintiff as an ultimate user of temporary instruments, and found no abuse of discretion in admitting evidence of prior similar accidents.