PORT TOWNSEND — The Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has asked the state Supreme Court to overrule an appeals court ruling that set aside a double-murder conviction.
Michael J. Pierce, a Quilcene resident, was convicted in 2010 of the first-degree murders of Pat and Janice Yarr on March 18, 2009, in their farmhouse on Boulton Road north of Lake Leland.
The house was then set on fire.
In a July 17 decision, the appeals court unanimously reversed the conviction — for which Pierce, 36, is serving a life sentence at Walla Walla State Penitentiary — and remanded the case to Jefferson County for a new trial.
Prosecuting Attorney Scott Rosekrans said his office filed last week a request that the state Supreme Court review the appeals court’s decision.
Rosekrans said the high court could take four months to decide if it will review the case.
The appeals court said it reversed the conviction because Pierce’s request for an attorney after he was arrested was not immediately honored and because of statements it said were “inappropriate” by the prosecutor in the case, Rosekrans, who was chief criminal deputy at the time of the trial.
The request for review to the state Supreme Court counters that the judge had told the jury seven times during the trial that guilt or innocence should be decided on the basis of the evidence and not the closing statements.
“The mere fact [Rosekrans] emphasized facts that were themselves inflammatory did not violate Pierce’s right to a fair trial,” the request for review said.
The document also said Pierce “knowingly and voluntarily waived his rights” and that statements he made after his arrest should not be suppressed.
If the state Supreme Court does not hear the case, it will be remanded to Jefferson County for a new trial.
If it does hear the case, the high court could rule to uphold the original conviction, rule in favor of the court of appeals or decide that one of the appeals court’s rulings has merit and the other does not.
If Pierce does have a second trial, Rosekrans said Wednesday that he thinks the trial could be heard in Jefferson County and would not require a change of venue.
“A lot of people said that we wouldn’t be able to find an impartial jury in the [2010] trial and we had no problem,” he said.
“I don’t see why we can’t find a jury this time since three years have passed.”
Rosekrans said a change of venue will occur if a jury cannot be seated.
“They can know about the case, but they need to be able to be impartial,” Rosekrans said of the jury selection process.
Pierce was sentenced to 1,415 months — or nearly 118 years — in prison for two counts of first-degree murder and the use of a firearm in each killing, first-degree robbery, arson, burglary, theft of a firearm, unlawful possession of a firearm and second-degree theft of an access device — an ATM card.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
