State of Washington v. Marshall Disney, 199 Wash. App. 422

Marshall Disney alleged his public defender, Nancy McAllister, sexually touched his inner thigh during a 11/13/2015 arraignment and filed a PREA complaint.
A deputy sheriff reviewed courtroom video, found no touching, and informed Disney there was no evidence of a crime; Disney nevertheless repeated the allegation to multiple agencies.
Pacific County prosecutors charged Disney with criminal malicious prosecution for repeatedly making baseless sexual-assault allegations against his attorney.
At the bench trial, testimony (including a corrections officer who monitored the hearing) and courtroom video provided no corroboration of Disney’s claim; McAllister denied touching him.
The judge briefly stood at the deputy’s prior position in the courtroom to observe sightlines and commented (stating he wasn’t a witness) that the courtroom chairs were such that a person could be seen through the slats; the judge later referenced that observation in findings.
The court found Disney guilty of malicious prosecution; he appealed, arguing insufficient evidence as to lack of probable cause and that the trial court erred by taking judicial notice of the chair.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether evidence supported the element of lack of probable cause for malicious prosecution	Disney: his repeated complaints established probable cause for his allegations	State: objective lack of probable cause shown by video, witness testimony, expert opinion	Court: substantial evidence supported lack of probable cause; bench verdict affirmed
Whether the trial judge erred by taking judicial notice of the courtroom chair/sightlines	Disney: judge improperly took judicial notice and relied on extrinsic observation without record	State: judge merely described his observations (akin to a view); chair observation acceptable	Court: issue not preserved for appeal; even if considered, judge’s conduct was within discretion and not reversible error

State v. Homan, 181 Wn.2d 102 (standard for reviewing sufficiency of evidence after bench trial)
Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (federal constitutional sufficiency test)
State v. Green, 94 Wn.2d 216 (adoption of Jackson standard in Washington)
State v. Farnsworth, 185 Wn.2d 768 (acknowledging Jackson/Green sufficiency standard)
Salinas v. State, 119 Wn.2d 192 (appellate review accepts state’s evidence and inferences)
State v. Camarillo, 115 Wn.2d 60 (deference to factfinder on credibility)
Bender v. City of Seattle, 99 Wn.2d 582 (probable cause is an objective determination)
State v. Gluck, 83 Wn.2d 424 (definition of probable cause)
Peasley v. Puget Sound Tug & Barge Co., 13 Wn.2d 485 (dismissal as prima facie evidence in civil malicious prosecution context)