State v. Smith

In justice court, the petitioner was found guilty of having assaulted one Sharon, a 38-year-old retarded person under the petitioner's care at Fircrest School in Seattle. A trial de novo in the Superior Court resulted in a guilty verdict, which was affirmed by the Court of Appeals. The facts of the case are set forth in the opinion of the Court of Appeals, Division One, State v. Smith, 30 Wn. App. 251, 633 P.2d 137 (1981), and need not be repeated here.

The petitioner challenges the holding of the Court of Appeals that Sharon was competent to testify. She maintains that Sharon, having an…