Chelan County Appeals Rape Case To State Supreme Court

Chelan County is appealing a Washington Appeals Court decision denying retrial of a Cashmere man to the Washington Supreme Court.  

The appeals court determined last month that Blake Alexander Badgley could not be retried for sexual assault because of a double jeopardy conflict after a Chelan County jury could not reach a decision on a second-degree rape charge. 

Badgley was found not guilty of third-degree rape in the same case. 

Chelan County contends the appeals court decision is in conflict with previous supreme court decisions on double jeopardy. 

County prosecutors are also asking the supreme court to review appeals court Judge George Fearing's opinion for the majority in the 2-1 appeals court decision. 

The county says Fearing's opinion raises new questions, including prosecutorial ethics, that should be determined by the supreme court. 

Fearing labeled the prosecution as unethical for its assertions that the victim was actually asleep during the alleged sex at trial and then on appeal argued that she was, in fact, awake during a portion of the act. 

The county claims the appellate procedure does not give the appeals court the ability to raise such an issue. 

Chelan County prosecutors charged Badgley for allegedly having sex with a woman who was too intoxicated to consent while at a party in Monitor in 2018. 

Superior Court Judge Robert Jourdan ruled in 2021 that Badgley could be retried on the second-degree charge, but on appeal Badgley's defense argued that would constitute double jeopardy since the elements of the two charges were so similar. 

The appeals court sided with the argument made by the defense in a decision released July 27 of this year. 

The supreme court has not said whether it will take the appeal from Chelan County. 

Badgley’s $100,000 bond in Chelan County was exonerated Friday, the same day county prosecutors submitted their petition to the supreme court.