In the first round in Thurston County Superior Court, Judge Price heard two motions filed by the Advocacy. Joe Frawley appeared for the Advocacy and AAG Michael Grossman argued for WDFW. WDFW opposed both motions.
The first motion was to consolidate the Advocacy case with a private citizen complaint (West) filed just prior to the Advocacy filing its petition. The Judge granted the Advocacy’s motion to consolidate.
The second motion from the Advocacy was to continue a motion filed by WDFW asking the court to dismiss the West case. The Judge granted the Advocacy’s motion which stands down the efforts of WDFW to get the West case thrown out while allowing an opening for WDFW to refile in the future.
The Judge further set up a schedule for conferences, etc. to start the process down the procedural path to trial.
Advocacy President Tim Hamilton summed it up this way. “While its a long playoff, it’s nice to start a series 2-0 versus the opposition.“
More to come…….