State v. Crowell

David Crowell was convicted by a

jury of the grand larceny of 33 head of cattle. The Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction in an unpublished opinion. We granted Crowell's petition for review in 91 Wn.2d 1009 (1978) on the issues whether the Superior Court acted without subject matter jurisdiction and whether post-trial statements by the bailiff influenced the jury's deliberations. We now reverse and remand for a new trial.

I

Charges against petitioner were filed first in justice court. However, prior to the justice court preliminary hearing, the prosecution filed an information in superior…