State v. Bagby
Washington Supreme Court
522 P.3d 982 (2023)
- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
Tyler Bagby (defendant) was an American, Black college student. Bagby was involved in an incident at a party during which Bagby punched Austin Davis, a white partygoer. All other partygoers who saw the incident were white. Bagby’s friend Solomon Cooper came to the room after the punch occurred and removed Bagby from the party. Cooper was also Black. Bagby was charged with burglary, assault, and harassment. At trial, Bagby and Cooper were the only Black people present; the judge and the entire jury were white. During the prosecutor’s case-in-chief, he asked witnesses to identify Bagby by his “nationality.” At times when clarifying, the prosecutor stated that he was asking about Bagby’s ethnicity. Bagby’s citizenship and nationality were not relevant to the charges, and there was no question of his identity as it related to the conduct in question. During direct examination, the prosecutor repeatedly referred to Davis as the white guy and Bagby as the Black guy. During closing arguments, the prosecutor referred to the witnesses, except for Cooper, as Good Samaritans. Bagby was convicted, and he appealed on the ground of prosecutorial misconduct.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Montoya-Lewis, J.)
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