SEATTLE — Hundreds, if not thousands, of defendants in Washington state’s most populous county could find it easier to beat drunken driving charges after a panel of judges determined that there were so many ethical lapses and scientific mistakes at the state toxicology lab that breath-test results should not be admitted at trial.

King County District Court Judges David Steiner, Darrell Phillipson and Mark Chow said the lab’s work on breath tests over the past several years cut so many corners as to be completely unreliable. The decision will not only make it easier for defendants in pending cases to beat drunken driving charges, but could allow anyone previously convicted on breath test evidence to appeal.

Prosecutors can still try to win convictions based on other evidence, such as erratic driving and field sobriety tests.

The ruling is not binding on the other 18 district judges in the county, but is expected to be highly influential, said Presiding Judge Barbara Linde.

In Skagit County, judges ruled that although misconduct at the lab was troubling, there was no immediate evidence that the breath test results were invalid. In Snohomish County, judges threw out the tests in about 40 cases.

Olympia: Panel OKs domestic partner bill

A measure to expand the state’s domestic partnership law passed a House committee Wednesday.

The bill would grant same-sex couples more than 170 of the benefits and responsibilities given to married couples, including property and guardianship rights. The House Judiciary Committee passed it on a 7-4 vote.

It would add domestic partners to sections of laws where previously only spouses were mentioned, including sections about probate and trusts, community property and homestead exemptions.

Inmates sent out of state to return

Washington will stop sending inmates out of state and will start bringing home the 1,200 convicts housed elsewhere this summer, the Department of Corrections says.

The state prison system, which has been overcrowded for years, has rented out-of-state prison beds since 2003 and leases about 1,000 beds in county jails in Washington.

Prison chief Eldon Vail said the scheduled January 2009 opening of new prison space at Coyote Ridge at Connell in Eastern Washington will likely allow the state to house all its inmates in-state.

The Coyote Ridge expansion will create 1,280 new slots and the state will initially rent about 300 beds at the Yakima County Jail.

Oregon: Mayor faces recall over photos

Opponents of “MySpace Mayor” Carmen Kontur-Gronquist submitted enough signatures to force a recall vote, Arlington officials said.

Kontur-Gronquist, 42, created a stir in this Eastern Oregon community of roughly 500 when her MySpace photos, which show the mayor on a town fire engine clad only in a black bra and panties, were made public.

Supporters of the recall say the photos were inappropriate, and they disagree with the mayor on water issues and what to do with the local golf course.

Rena Kennedy, the Gilliam County clerk, confirmed Tuesday that a sufficient number of signatures on the recall petition matched voting records, The Oregonian newspaper reported. Only 41 names were required.

Kontur-Gronquist has said the photos were taken before she was elected mayor three years ago, and she saw no reason to remove them from her MySpace page after taking office.

In a recent appearance on ABC’s 20/20, Kontur-Gronquist said she had permission from the fire chief to use the engine and had intended to use the photos in a contest about women’s fitness. A relative set up the MySpace page in hopes it would jump-start her social life, said Kontur-Gronquist, a single parent.

Associated Press