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J UNE 20 , 2012
S EATTLE , W ASHINGTON
V OLUME XXXIV, N O . 25
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C HALLENGING P EOPLE TO S HAPE A B ETTER F UTURE N OW
GRADUATION
Tsunami
Debris
Danger
Governor: federal
help needed with
Japanese flotsam
PHOTO BY JULIE KEEFE
By Rachel La Corte
The Associated Press
Students from Chief Sealth High School celebrate at their graduation ceremony Saturday, June 16, at Memorial
Stadium.
Public Defenders Overworked
State Supreme Court sets news standards for indigents’ attorneys
By Gene Johnson
The Associated Press
SEATTLE (AP) — For the
first
time,
Washington’s
Supreme Court is setting limits
on the number of cases that pub-
lic defenders can handle — an
effort to improve the quality of
legal representation for some of
the 200,000 poor people prose-
cuted in the state every year, but
one that could increase costs to
local governments at a time of
tight budgets.
By a vote of 7-2, the justices
said lawyers who represent indi-
gent defendants generally
should handle no more than 150
felony cases per year or 300 to
400 misdemeanor cases, and
even fewer when the cases are
complex. The caseload stan-
dards will take effect in Septem-
ber 2013 to avoid imminent hits
to local budgets, Chief Justice
Barbara Madsen said in
announcing them Friday.
``Innocent people are convict-
ed if they don’t have an ade-
quate defense,’’ said Joanne
Moore, director of the state’s
INDEX
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Office of Public Defense.
``There’s been a lot of informa-
tion in the past few years that
many attorneys who are provid-
ing public defense are burdened
by very high caseloads, and they
haven’t been able to give the
proper amount of attention to
their public defense cases.’’
The high court also took
another step Friday to help peo-
ple who can’t afford legal help,
adopting a rule that allows non-
lawyers with certain levels of
training to give legal advice in
civil matters, such as selecting
and completing court forms, and
reviewing and explaining plead-
ings.
Recent lawsuits in Washing-
ton have highlighted the prob-
lem with public defender
caseloads.
The American Civil Liberties
Union of Washington is suing
the cities of Burlington and
Mount Vernon, saying that those
cities jointly contracted with
two part-time lawyers to repre-
sent indigent defendants in mis-
demeanor cases.
See LAWYERS on page 3
OCEAN SHORES, Wash. (AP) —
Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire announced
Monday a state plan to address tsunami
debris that reaches the state’s coast from
Japan but stressed that federal help is need-
ed.
``We don’t have the resources at the state
level to do what we’re going to have to do
here,’’ she said at a news conference at a
beachside hotel in Ocean Shores.
Gregoire said she and other western states
have reached out to the federal government
letting officials know that they will be seek-
ing financial assistance, but so far have not
received a response. She said the state is
working with U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell in
trying to secure funds.
Gregoire noted that the Department of
Ecology has been approved to use $100,000
from its litter cleanup account for tsunami
debris removal. However, a ``steady drib-
ble’’ of tsunami debris is expected over the
next few years that will require more
money, though she said the cost of the
cleanup is unknown.
``We are prepared to do whatever it takes
to keep our beaches and our coastal com-
munities clean and safe,’’ she said.
Gregoire announced a ``Clean Shoreline
Initiative’’ to be led by state’s top emer-
gency management leader Maj. Gen. Timo-
thy Lowenberg, and to include the state
Department of Health, Ecology and other
agencies.
``Everyone will be part of the solution,’’
Lowenberg said.
Gregoire said the debris is not yet at a
level where she needs to call out the Nation-
al Guard or seek money from the Federal
Emergency Management Agency.
``We really don’t know what to expect
right now,’’ she said. ``I can’t declare an
emergency until I actually have one on my
hands.’’
See DEBRIS on page 2
2006 Otto Zehm Shooting Settlement
Spokane mayor apologizes for police killing of disabled man
By Nicholas K. Geranios
The Associated Press
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Six years
after Otto Zehm died at the hands of
Spokane police, Mayor David Condon has
delivered a hand-written letter of apology to
Zehm’s mother.
Condon met with Ann Zehm, 84, last
week to deliver his letter.
``You, and our community, waited for too
long for resolution in this matter,’’ the letter
said. ``For me, blame was clearly misplaced
in this case, and I fear that compounded the
pain for you and many others.’’
Otto Zehm, who was white, was 36 in
2006 after he was mistakenly accused of
theft and beaten, hog-tied and Tasered by
police in a convenience store. Zehm, a men-
tally disabled janitor who had committed no
crime, died two days later without regaining
consciousness.
The Zehm case reverberated through city
politics for years. It was a factor in Con-
don’s victory last year over Mayor Mary
Verner, and several city officials tied to the
case have been fired.
The written apology was part of a mediat-
See SHOOTING on page 2