The State of Washington v. Timothy Scott Fisher

Summary

The court held that Fisher was denied a fair trial because the prosecutor introduced physical-abuse evidence before the defense made delayed reporting an issue and then used that evidence to argue that Fisher had a propensity to commit sexual abuse. The court also held that evidence concerning Fisher's current stepchildren was improperly admitted, but rejected Fisher's confrontation and jury-instruction challenges. The court reversed the Court of Appeals and remanded for a new trial; Madsen, J., concurring, agreed with the result but would have based reversal on cumulative error rather than prosecutorial misconduct alone.