Prosecutor continues with Staats' case

EPHRATA - The Grant County Prosecutor's Office objected Tuesday to dismissing the case against a Moses Lake couple who allegedly failed to find adequate medical care for their malnourished son, 2.

Their son was admitted to Samaritan Hospital last May and was reported to weigh between 8 and 10 pounds, the size of a baby.

Michelle and Robert Staats were charged with first-degree criminal mistreatment and second-degree criminal mistreatment. They pleaded not guilty to the charges in October.

Defense attorneys Stephen Hormel and Douglas Phelps filed a motion for dismissal in Grant County Superior Court recently stating the law under which they are charged is unconstitutional.

According to court documents, the defense argued that the charges violate the right to free exercise of religion.

The motion states that members of the Christian Science Church believe in healing using prayer and the Washington legislature added an exemption from prosecution for criminal mistreatment for members of the church.

Prosecutor Angus Lee responded by filing an objection Tuesday against the motion to dismiss.

Lee's response argued the section of Washington legislature the defense is citing is separate and not applicable to the case against the Staats.

The prosecution gave two reasons why the case shouldn't be dismissed.

"First, the defendants cannot meet their heavy burden of proving that section of Washington law is in fact unconstitutional," Lee stated.

"Second, even if the allegedly offending section is found to be unconstitutional, the Staats are charged under a different, separate, and independent section of Washington law that can stand alone without the existence of the allegedly offending provision."

Lee added the criminal section that is being charged existed a decade before the unconstitutional section was enacted.

The motion also provides several examples of cases where the free exercise of religion has been argued and dismissed.

A hearing is scheduled for today.

According to a previous Columbia Basin Herald article, the Staats' son began having troubles keeping his food down in February 2011, more than a year before he was taken to the hospital.

Michelle Staats reportedly didn't trust hospitals and used alternative medicine on her children.

The condition of the child fluctuated for several months and the child reportedly never saw a doctor until November 2011.

Michelle Staats called 9-1-1 on May 9, 2012 after she discovered the child had stopped breathing and he was taken to Samaritan Hospital.

The child weighed between 8 and 10 pounds and doctors reported the child looked "emaciated, wasted and obviously malnourished."

Both parents allegedly told police that they did not intend to hurt or abuse the child.