King County Prosecutor and local resident Dan Satterberg at the Oct. 21 press conference on the 'Operation Center of Attention' crime bust in White Center.

by Mark Neuman

King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg stopped by the B-Town Blog office in Olde Burien for an interview recently, at our invitation.

We covered several topics, including Operation Center of Attention, the future of capital punishment in Washington state, the toughest decisions a prosecutor must make, and even George Harrison and the Beatles.

When we first sat down with Satterberg for an interview a couple of years ago (read it here), he made us laugh summarizing his days playing for the Highline High School football team as a teenager.

“We were a small team, but we were slow,” he recalled.

He got a similar chuckle this time around when we asked:  What advice do you have for anyone planning on committing a crime in King County?

“Go to Pierce County,” was Satterberg’s obviously tongue-in-cheek  response. He continued with a more serious completion of his answer.

“That’s my simple advice. We actually have a good, strong public safety system here even though we have all suffered cuts across the board. But we’re never too busy take one more case.”

Capital punishment and its future
We asked Satterberg to comment on the recent announcement by Oregon governor John Kitzhaber that executions will not happen there as long as Kitzhaber is governor.

“I think the death penalty as the ultimate punishment in Washington state is applied very carefully, obviously very slowly, and it’s also very expensive,” Satterberg told us.

“There are lots of reasons to have a philosophical debate about the morality of it or the effectiveness of it.

“A governor is free to, on an individual case, grant clemency and set aside a death penalty. But you know, the people (of Washington) should have this debate. I think I’d like to see the people vote on it every 10 years: ‘Do you still want to have the death penalty?’”

Holly Washa was murdered in 1991.

Witness to an execution
Satterberg recalled serving as a witness in 2010 in Walla Walla at the execution by lethal injection of Cal Brown, who had tortured, raped and murdered 22-year-old Holly Washa of Burien in 1991.

“I volunteered to be a witness. I wanted to sit with Holly’s family who came out from Nebraska to see that and just kind of be there. We said we’d be there together throughout that whole case. It was a very emotional time for them. But I think there was a sense of relief for them.

“Now they don’t have to worry about Cal Brown anymore. They made a commitment to Holly in their hearts. It (police work, trial and appeal process) went on for 19 years. So you could argue both sides of that.

“It was a relief for them. It was also, you could say, cruel and unusual to put the victim’s family through that much. But at the end, they would have said to you ‘We are glad we don’t have to think about Cal Brown anymore. He got what he deserved.’”

Crime is way down since 1980
“The interesting thing about crime in the state of Washington in the last 30 years is that it’s actually gone down dramatically,” Satterberg told us. “I think the same is true for North Highline and Burien as well.

“The statistics are kind of shocking and I don’t know how to explain it entirely. But it goes like this: since 1980, Part One crimes, meaning murder, rapes, robbery, burglary, car theft (but excluding drug crimes), has gone down 43 percent in the state of Washington.

“At that same time, the public investment in the infrastructure that fights crime, meaning courts, police, prosecutors, judges, public defenders, jails and prisons has increased about a hundred and twenty percent.

“I think we’re doing a better job of apprehending people who are ‘in the business’ of crime: serial burglars, serial car thieves, sex offenders and we get them earlier in the process and we send them to prison for longer sentences.”

Visiting lifers in prison
Satterberg, who has served as county prosecutor since the spring of 2007, spent an evening about a year ago with the Concerned Lifers group at the state prison in Monroe.

“I was a guest and I sat in a room with about 40 men who have been sentenced to life in prison,” Satterberg said. “I just really wanted to hear from them about the system, the criminal justice system they were unwilling participants in, and ideas for reform. It was a very, very meaningful night for me. I learned a lot.

“One of the things I learned was that there are a lot of thoughtful people in prison. And there is a lot of talent behind bars who’ve done terrible things, many of whom accept the fact that they took a life or multiple lives and they know they’re not getting out, they don’t deserve to get out but they still want to be able to give back to the community.

Dan greets one of the courthouse companions.

“And one of the things they want to be able to do is to have their stories to be a lesson for young people who are just now dabbling in crime: ‘Don’t do the things that I did that led me this way.’

“So we’re actually working with some of the offenders who have been released, some of the Three Strike Robbery Two defendants who’ve been granted clemency and finding appropriate ways for them to talk to first offenders in the juvenile system.”

Tough and controversial decisions
“One of the great things about being prosecutor is that you have a lot of tough decisions and sometimes they’re internal. Who do I hire? Do I need to let somebody go? We have almost five hundred employees,” Satterberg said.

“I guess the thing that people need to know is that our office is full of really good, smart, caring, dedicated people who at some sacrifice to compensation decided to work for the public, and they love representing the people and they love coming to work and doing the right thing.

“In the last three-and-a-half years we have lost some 50 positions in our office: 36 prosecutors and 15 staff. So I had to make some tough decisions that have really kept me up at night.

“On the professional side we make death penalty decisions regularly and we decide whether we’re going to accept a plea to something less than charged. We evaluate cases and you have to make decisions on a regular basis.”

End of Part One.
Be sure to check back to The B-Town Blog tomorrow for Part Two.

BTB Advertiser Pro Se University wants our Readers to know that they’re offering free 30-minute consultations with Attorney Marie White on Tuesday, Sept. 20th, to discuss family law issues.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Free 30-minute Family Law Consultations.

WHEN: Tuesday, Sept. 20th (appointment necessary – see below for details).

WHERE: Pro Se’s offices are located at 415 SW 152nd Street in Burien.

INFO: To sign up for a free 30-minute appointment with Attorney Marie White to discuss your family law issue(s), click here or call 1-877-776-7310.

Pro Se University is located at 415 SW 152nd Street in Burien.

BTB Advertiser Pro Se University wants our Readers to know that they’re offering free 30-minute consultations with Attorney Marie White on Tuesday, Aug. 23rd, to discuss family law issues.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Free 30-minute Family Law Consultations.

WHEN: Tuesday, Aug. 23rd (appointment necessary – see below for details).

WHERE: Pro Se’s offices are located at 415 SW 152nd Street in Burien.

INFO: To sign up for a free 30-minute appointment with Attorney Marie White to discuss your family law issue(s), click here or call 1-877-776-7310.

Pro Se University is located at 415 SW 152nd Street in Burien.

BTB Advertiser Pro Se University wants our Readers to know that they’re offering free 30-minute consultations with Attorney Marie White on Tuesday, July 26th, to discuss family law issues.

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WHEN: Tuesday, July 26th (appointment necessary – see below for details).

WHERE: Pro Se’s offices are located at 415 SW 152nd Street in Burien.

INFO: To sign up for a free 30-minute appointment with Attorney Marie White to discuss your family law issue(s), click here or call 1-877-776-7310.

Pro Se University is located at 415 SW 152nd Street in Burien.

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by Ralph Nichols

A lawsuit filed by a long-time area family against the City of Normandy Park and the Cascade Land Conservancy seeks to block removal of bulkheads they say protect their home and property.

The complaint alleges that attempts by the city and the conservation group to remove the bulkheads are based on “dishonest and misleading representations to state and county funding agencies.”

It was filed in King County Superior Court by Brent Carson with GordonDerr – a Seattle law firm that focuses on land use, real estate and environmental law – on behalf of the Hadley family, which has owned their property for more than 70 years.

The case is scheduled for trial before Judge Cheryl Carey at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent in December 2012. Answers from the city and the Cascade Land Conservancy are due July 5. No discovery by attorneys has yet been schedules.

Carson charges that Normandy Park and the conservancy are improperly acquiring at least 26 parcels of property along the Puget Sound shoreline – known as Beaconsfield on the Sound – that impact the Hadley’s home and land.

“A key requirement of both the Salmon Recovery Funding Board and the King County Conservation Futures programs is that any grant funds used for conservation projects can only be used to acquire property from willing land owners,” he noted in a news release.

But, the complaint contends, the Hadleys are not willing owners.

And, Carson told The B-Town Blog, the conservancy “and the city never communicated to agencies funding the acquisitions” the fact that “the Hadley family owns and has maintained the bulkheads.”

Yet “title reports for the sale of these properties, prepared for [the conservancy], clearly state that the Hadleys are the owners of these bulkheads, and it’s hard to see how [the conservancy] or the City could have missed that,” he added.

Lisa Hadley-Colmenares said in the news release, “This property has been in our family for three generations and we are shocked at the [conservancy] and City’s deceptions to us and to the various public funding agencies.

“Had the public funding agencies been made aware of our position, they might have used these valuable funding resources toward other projects that met their criteria. We absolutely support environmental responsibility, yet not at the expense of putting citizens’ lives at risk.”

Normandy Park City Manager Doug Schulze told The B-Town Blog last week, “I can’t say a whole lot about it.” The city had only recently been served with the lawsuit and “our city attorney is reviewing it and will appear on the city’s behalf.

“I can’t say a whole lot about it” – Normandy Park City Manager Doug Schulze.

“But at this point I have not even received a briefing on what the lawsuit entirely entails,” Schulze said. “Basically it is related to a project the city has been involved in since 2003 or 2004 on an ongoing acquisition” of properties.

“The city had no discussions with the Hadleys of the Colmenares regarding this issue prior to the filing of the suit,” he added. “Had there been discussion, we may have been able to resolve a significant amount of the differences.”

Carson countered, however, that “the city is disingenuous when it says it has not had communication with the Hadleys. The city’s partner in these acquisitions, The Cascade Land Conservancy, communicated frequently with the Hadleys and the city was fully briefed.

He said internal city emails in 2008 “demonstrates that [the conservation group] and the city were fully aware of the Hadley’s intention not to sell.”

Carson added that this April he “communicated directly with Normandy Park City Attorney Jim Haney and general counsel for the conservancy and reiterated the Hadleys’ position. Neither attorney made any further attempts to discuss this matter with the Hadleys.

“Instead, the City continued to press forward with its acquisitions, forcing the Hadleys to take legal action.”

No monetary damages are being sought by the plaintiffs, who, Schulze noted, are looking “to quiet a title and for some prescriptive rights over some property.”

Carson said the owners of the properties in question granted bulkhead easements to the Hadleys in the 1950s, who built approximately 454 feet of concrete bulkheads.

“In the 1980s the City of Normandy Park granted permits to the Hadleys for additional shoreline protection and the Hadleys installed approximately another 371 feet of rock revetments.”

The city and the conservancy allegedly have been using state and King County funds to acquire property on the lower part of the Beaconsfield bluff, just below the Hadley family home.

“To date, over $1.4 million of taxpayer dollars and public funds have been used for the Beaconsfield on the Puget Sound Project,” Carson said.

“In early 2008, the Hadleys unequivocally communicated their decision not to sell their property or permit the removal of the bulkheads, and [the conservancy] informed the Hadleys that they would respect their wishes.”

“Long ago the legislature decided that the public interest is best served when working with the willing property owners,” he noted.

“Despite knowing that the Hadley family owned the bulkheads and were not interested in selling or having their bulkheads removed, the [conservancy] and the city of Normandy Park have represented to funders that acquisition of the properties further down the bluff, known as the ‘piano key,’ would give the city permission to take out the shoreline protection installed to reduce erosion of the hillside below the Hadley property.”

Yet the Cascade Land Conservancy “and the City never communicated the true owners of the bulkheads to Washington state or King County funders.”

BTB Advertiser Pro Se University wants our Readers to know that they’re offering free 30-minute consultations with Attorney Marie White this coming Tuesday, June 21st, to discuss family law issues.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Free 30-minute Family Law Consultations.

WHEN: Tuesday, June 21st (appointment necessary – see below for details).

WHERE: Pro Se’s offices are located at 415 SW 152nd Street in Burien.

INFO: To sign up for a free 30-minute appointment with Attorney Marie White to discuss your family law issue(s), click here or call 1-877-776-7310.

BTB Advertiser Pro Se University wants our Readers to know that they’re offering free 30-minute consultations with Attorney Marie White this coming Tuesday, May 24th, to discuss family law issues.

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The King County Prosecutor’s Office announced Thursday afternoon that Shavelle M. Lewis pleaded guilty as charged to Vehicular Homicide and Felony Hit and Run for the hit and run death of tow truck driver William A. “Tony” Padilla, of Burien, on I-5 in Seattle on September 24, 2010.

As we previously reported, Padilla was struck and killed by Lewis, who was impaired at the time, while hooking a vehicle up to his tow truck on I-5 near Spokane Street. Padilla, 51, was working for GT Towing in Seattle when he was killed.

Lewis, 21, will face a sentence range of 41 to 54 months in prison when she is sentenced May 20 before Judge Bruce Hilyer at the King County Courthouse.

by Tracy Codd
BTB Advertiser

Defendants arrested for a first offense DUI in this state are subject to both pending criminal and administrative licensing penalties. The state of Washington employs a multi-tiered system for sentencing regarding DUI cases, with offenders possessing a BAC at or above .15 or those who refused to take a breath test facing harsher penalties than those with a BAC of .08 to .149. Likewise, violations such as refusals to submit or associated criminal charges related to a given DUI arrest may incur additional administrative or criminal penalties.

Department of Licensing Administrative Penalties

• Upon arrest, drivers facing first offense DUI charges face mandatory license suspension of at least ninety (90) days. If BAC in excess of .15, drivers face license suspension of up to one (1) year, unless otherwise successfully contested at the administrative hearing
• Attempts to reinstate may require use of ignition interlock device, pending the case-specific nature of the court’s sentencing in first offense cases
• Likewise, attempts to reinstate following suspension require SR-22 insurance coverage in Washington

Criminal Penalties

• First offense convictions carry mandatory incarceration of one (1) day; two (2) days for offenders with BAC in excess of .15%. Maximum incarceration in either case cannot exceed one (1) year.
• State of Washington courts may employ a form of community control, known as electronic home monitoring, in lieu of mandatory incarceration for a period of fifteen (15) days or thirty (30) days, depending on BAC of driver.
• Alcohol assessment or substance abuse treatment possible, but not required in every case.
• Fines at a minimum of $865.50 to maximum of $5,000 for offenders with BAC below .15%. Offenders with BAC above .15% face fines of at least $1,120.50, but not more than $5,000. Fines do not include costs related to completion of sentence or reinstatement of license

Deferred Prosecutions

• The Washington DUI Deferred Prosecution is a program that allows a person suffering from alcoholism, drug addiction, or a mental health problem to petition the court to enter an intensive treatment program in lieu of being prosecuted for DUI. Successful completion of the Deferred Prosecution, treatment program and compliance with other court imposed conditions will result in dismissal of the DUI and may avoid a suspension of driver’s license by the Department of Licensing. The Deferred Prosecution law allows an individual to petition the court for deferral of their case for five years while they seek treatment for their disease. If the request is granted the advantages of the Deferred Prosecution are clear:
• No jail?* No criminal fine?* Removal of a DUI conviction from criminal record after five years (but still considered a prior offense for sentencing purposes on a later charge)?* No license suspension (if submitted to BAC breath test)?* No SR-22 high risk insurance
• Most importantly, participants are given an opportunity to overcome their disease and regain control of their lives. The required two-year substance addiction treatment program is quite rigorous and occurs in three phases. Additionally, two Alcoholics Anonymous or other self-help meetings per week are required for the full two years, and can be required for the entire five year period. The DUI defendant is also placed on supervised probation, which means that they may be required to meet on a regular basis with a probation officer and must pay for those services. Additionally, the Deferred Prosecution requires installation of the Ignition Interlock Device for at least one year.

A full and complete description of the DUI laws can be found in Title 46 of the Revised Code of Washington at www.apps.leg.wa.gov.

Getting Legal Advice
For more information and insight into your legal rights and options in your first DUI in Washington, including your options for negotiating a favorable result or outright dismissal of the charges, consult with an experienced, competent Washington DUI lawyer to learn more.

W. Tracy Codd, a B-Town Blog Advertiser, is an attorney with office in Burien who has represented individuals accused of DUI since 1987. His telephone number is (206) 248-6152. Call today for a free consultation. He can also be reach through his website at www.tracycodd.com.

BTB Advertiser Pro Se University wants our Readers to know that they’re offering free 30-minute consultations with Attorney Marie White on Tuesday, April 19th, to discuss family law issues.

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WHAT: Free 30-minute Family Law Consultations.

WHEN: Tuesday, April 19th (appointment necessary – see below for details).

WHERE: Pro Se’s offices are located at 415 SW 152nd Street in Burien.

INFO: To sign up for a free 30-minute appointment with Attorney Marie White to discuss your family law issue(s), click here or call 1-877-776-7310.