State v. Israel

The defendant appeals from a conviction on two counts of malicious mischief in the second degree after jury trial. Prior to empaneling a jury, the trial court conducted a hearing pursuant to CrR 3.5 to determine the voluntariness of defendant's statements to the police. The defendant did not testify and the court ruled that her statements to the officers contained no confession or admission and would be admissible. As a result of the personal observation of the defendant, during the course of the hearing, the prosecution then stated, "I would like to raise an issue of competency here of the…