Woods & Brangwin Law Firm, PLLC

Story by: By Jaime Adame, World staff writer

Posted: Monday - February 26, 2007

ROCK ISLAND — A Rock Island man arrested for driving under the influence received $7,000 earlier this month in a settlement from the state after filing a false arrest claim against the Washington State Patrol.

By LuAnn Morgan from the Othello Outlook

A lawsuit has been filed against Avista Corporation by Othello teacher Melissa Martinez.

By Candice Boutilier
Columbia Basin Herald, assistant editor

SPOKANE — Two lawsuits resulted from a 2007 boom truck accident where one person died while helping conduct a science experiment before elementary school students in Othello.

Story by: Lynne Lynch, Herald staff writer

EPHRATA - An estimated 100 DUI cases in Grant County are on hold pending the outcome of a court argument asking breath test evidence be suppressed.

Breath test evidence for 11 people was thrown out Wednesday in Douglas County after Wenatchee attorneys Steve Woods and John Brangwin asked the breath test results be excluded.

Story by: The Seattle Times Company

Posted: Monday, March 5, 2007 - 12:00 AM

EAST WENATCHEE - A truck driver has been acquitted in what his lawyer says is the first jury trial under Washington's unsecured load law.

Friday - August 26, 2005

Wenatchee attorney John M. Brangwin recently graduated from the National College for DUI Defense. The training was at Harvard Law School.

* EXCERPTS RE-PRINTED WITH PERMISSION FROM THE WENATCHEE WORLD.

Attorney John Brangwin completed a three-day course in Bellevue on standardized field sobriety tests. The course, which was conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, included information on determination clues used during driving under the influence detection and arrests. Brangwin is an attorney with the Woods & Brangwin PLLC law firm in Wenatchee.

* EXCERPTS RE-PRINTED WITH PERMISSION FROM THE WENATCHEE WORLD.

Story by: KPQ News
Posted: Thursday, 5 May 2005 08:12:04 PDT

It may be more difficult for Chelan County Prosecutors to prove that someone was driving under the Influence, Chelan County District Judge, Thomas Warren, Tuesday found that the State's new D.U.I. law was unconstitutional. The law simplified what officials had to do to get breathalyzer evidence admitted in court. The Prosecutor's office will file a motion with Judge Warren for reconsideration.

By Martin Salazar, World staff writer
Sunday - March 28, 2004

When a former top cop, a county commissioner and a member of the state's highest court found themselves charged with driving drunk, they each reached for the same lifeline.
State Supreme Court Justice Bobbe Bridge, Douglas County Commissioner Dane Keane and former Chelan County chief criminal deputy Mark Mann pursued deferred prosecution. The option allows most driving under the influence defendants to hold onto their driver's licenses and avoid jail. If a defendant adheres to all the conditions imposed, the charge is tossed out after five years and doesn't become part of his or her criminal record.
It's an option available to most people who have a substance abuse or mental problem ? not just prominent individuals with connections and money, and it's not a free pass, according to prosecutors, defendants and an attorney who represents clients charged with DUI. Deferred prosecution has been available to people in this state since at least 1975, said Douglas County Deputy Prosecutor Gordon Edgar.
This is not some elitist program for famous people, said Wenatchee attorney John Brangwin, whose law firm represents DUI defendants.
Those who want deferred prosecution must file a petition with the court admitting their problem, and they have to obtain an evaluation saying treatment is needed. Ultimately, a judge decides whether to grant the petition.
Brangwin said more DUI defendants don't pursue deferred prosecution because they aren't alcoholics and therefore don't qualify. He said judges typically grant deferred prosecutions to most people who apply for one and have an alcohol problem. The exceptions are cases where a defendant has multiple prior offenses or where a defendant is not committed to treatment, Brangwin said.

Martin Salazar can be reached at 664-7155 or by e-mail at salazar@wenworld.com

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By Martin Salazar, World staff writer
Thursday - October 9, 2003

WENATCHEE - A Chelan County District Court judge has thrown out the results of breath tests in 18 drunken-driving cases, finding that the method used to calibrate the two machines used locally did not meet legal requirements.
The decision will likely impact all pending Chelan County and city of Wenatchee cases involving breath tests prior to Sept. 22, said Wenatchee attorney John Brangwin, who sought the ruling. Brangwin said he plans to mount similar challenges to test results in Douglas and Okanogan counties next week.
The breath tests have come under scrutiny throughout the state due to calibration shortcomings, he said. In June, King County District Court threw out results, and several other courts have followed suit, Brangwin said.
The problem is that thermometers used to measure the temperature of the solution that verifies the machines' accuracy were not calibrated according to written standards set by the state toxicologist, Chelan County District Court Judge Alicia Nakata found. Brangwin said the State Patrol's Breath Test Section did not adhere to the established protocol.
District Court Judge Alicia Nakata threw out the local test results at a court hearing on Tuesday afternoon. Attorneys with the Chelan County Prosecutor's Office and the city of Wenatchee had asked Nakata to deny the motion to suppress the evidence.
Nakata's ruling directly impacts 11 city cases and the other seven are Chelan County cases. The machines belong to the State Patrol, but are used by law enforcement agencies throughout the state.

Martin Salazar can be reached at 664-7155 or by e-mail at salazar@wenworld.com

* EXCERPT RE-PRINTED WITH PERMISSION.