Opinion ID: 2514211
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Inflammatory nature of the publicity

Text: Clark strenuously urges that a large amount of inflammatory publicity, calculated to evoke strong emotional responses, saturated the community around Everett in Snohomish County. Br. of Appellant at 111, 113, 115. The trial court found that much of the publicity around the time of the crime, and which followed some of the court proceedings, was emotional in nature, including statements from the Doll family, and requests for public assistance in locating her. However the trial court found that [t]he media coverage itself didn't create the inflammatory publicity as much as the facts of the crime, and the coverage itself did not appear to be designed or directed to inflame.... The inflammatory nature of this case is by reason largely of the nature of the crime itself. RP (Dec. 28, 1995) at 17 (defense motion for change of venue). We echoed this reasoning in a previous death penalty case by way of dicta: Although the publicity was widespread, it was largely factual in nature. The articles described the crime, the victims and the police investigation. The crime, rather than the publicity itself, generated public reaction. State v. Rupe, 101 Wash.2d 664, 675, 683 P.2d 571 (1984) ( Rupe I ). The nature of the publicity in this case does not by itself militate for or against a change of venue in this case.