Reign goalkeeper and U.S. women's national-team star Hope Solo again will face domestic-violence charges after a Washington state appeals court reversed a lower court's decision to dismiss a case from 2014.
Reign goalkeeper and U.S. national team star Hope Solo again will face domestic-violence charges after a court decision Friday reversed a dismissal of her case.
In June 2014, Solo was charged with two counts of fourth-degree assault for allegedly striking and punching her nephew and half-sister. After a municipal court judge dismissed the charges in January, the city of Kirkland filed an appeal in February seeking review in King County Superior Court, court records show.
City attorneys argued that the lower court erred in exercising its discretion to toss out the charges. Superior Court Judge Douglass North heard arguments Friday morning, then reversed the decision of the lower court and sent the case back to Kirkland Municipal Court for trial, according to court records.
“We are shocked and disappointed by the judge’s ruling this morning,” Solo’s attorney, Todd Maybrown, said in a statement sent to The Seattle Times. “However, we maintain our position that the charges in this case should have never been filed, that the original trial court’s dismissal of the case was correct, and we plan to file an appeal of today’s decision with the Court of Appeals.”
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The decision comes one day after Solo and her Reign teammates lost the NWSL championship game to FC Kansas City for the second consecutive season and less than three months after the U.S. women’s national team lifted the World Cup trophy at Vancouver’s BC Place.
Maybrown has argued that Solo was the victim in the assault and was acting in self-defense the night of June 21, 2014.
According to the charging documents, Solo was arrested after police responded to a 911 call about a disturbance in the 10600 block of 124th Avenue Northeast. The male caller reported that a woman at the residence was hitting people and no one could get her to stop or leave the house, according to police.
An argument between Solo and her nephew eventually escalated into a fistfight, according to the court document. The nephew also told police that in his attempts to stop Solo, he broke a broomstick over her head and brandished a broken BB gun at her in vain.
When Solo’s older half-sister tried to pull Solo off her son, Solo punched her in the face, prosecutors alleged in court documents.
In court briefs and hearings, Maybrown has said the two alleged victims refused to cooperate with the judicial process, skipping or canceling scheduled depositions and skirting efforts to be served subpoenas deposing them.
Seattle Times staff reporter Sara Jean Green contributed to this report. Information from The Seattle Times archives is included in this report.
June 21, 2014: Soccer star Hope Solo jailed, accused of domestic violence
Jan. 13, 2015: Domestic violence charges against Hope Solo dismissed
Oct. 2, 2015: Hope Solo to face domestic-violence charges after reversal of court decision