State v. Sass

This opinion was prepared by the late Justice Charles T. Wright. It is adopted by the undersigned Justices as the opinion of this court.

This is an appeal from a welfare fraud conviction. The sole question is what is the appropriate penalty.

We are dealing with a narrow question of law so the discussion of the facts will be brief. Clayton Sass was awarded a $6,000 industrial insurance settlement for a permanent partial disability by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (department). He was notified of the award March 3, 1976. After an initial payment of $2,241 in February, he…