Case, Staff, Civics Day, & Intern News!
Case News:
Client Receives 7-year sentence after Government requested 20 years
Tacoma AFD Becky Fish, along with Federal Defender Colin Fieman worked with our client to present compelling mitigation and helped explain the difficult circumstances that led to our client’s offense. The Court agreed that the client’s unique background and situation warranted a sentence that was less than half the custodial time recommended by the government. Former FPD WAW social worker Daniel Potter-Engelskirger, Tacoma paralegal Amy Strickling, and Tacoma investigator Stacey Brownstein worked with the client as well and supported them throughout the case.
Client received a short sentence for violating supervised release, but had nowhere to live when she was released. The halfway house refused to accept her, and Client was ineligible for most housing alternatives. With only three weeks’ notice, social worker Amanda Merfeld located housing, funding, transportation, and a reentry program for Client. She is now in a program and thriving. Congratulations to Client and thank you to Amanda!
Staff News:
Our Office Says Goodbye to Daniel Potter-Engelskirger and Wishes Him Well in San Diego!
MSW and Social Work Program Coordinator Daniel Potter-Engelskirger has left our office to return to his home state of California. We did not say good-bye, but see you soon, and wish him all the best as he joins the Mitigation Specialist Department of the Federal Defenders of San Diego where he will remain within our defender family. Among Dan’s many accomplishments during his three and a half years as the only social worker in our office, include successfully running a robust MSW intern program through the University of Washington and providing social work support to our district’s DREAM program. Dan established our office’s relationship with the King County’s Housing Connector program, which eliminates barriers to housing for people with criminal history and/or credit issues. He applied and obtained funds through the City of Seattle’s Bus Ticket program. He met with clients preparing to release from the Bureau of Prisons and assisted them with reentry planning. Dan also established a large network of support services for our clients through the United States Probation Office, Community Partners in Transition Services, as well as his fellow social workers and mitigation specialists working throughout the country. He designed an online referral form to efficiently handle social work requests and was a tremendous resource to his colleagues on a daily basis.
Dan presented at several trainings that included our CJA panel attorneys, to include the role of a social worker and motivational interviewing techniques. Most importantly, Dan’s training, expertise, and empathy improved the lives of every client he worked with, which contributed to better outcomes in their cases. Many thanks to Dan for all of his contributions to our office.
Civics Day:
In partnership with the ACLU of Washington, Seattle AFD Vanessa Pai- Thompson led five Civics Day sessions in high schools across Kent School District. She has led Civics Day sessions twice each year since 2018.
Civics Day was founded in 2016 by former King County public defender Twyla Carter. The program continues annually through joint efforts by the FPD, Kent School District Civics teachers, ACLU of Washington, Community Passageways and other community partners. The FPD’s contribution to Civics Day is consistent with the office's historical commitment to community engagement through speaking at school events and participating in court or bar-related events focused on high school students. Because the students will one day be voters and jurors, it is vital that they learn about civics within the context of the courts.
Civics Day offers high school Seniors the opportunity to learn about the criminal legal system—including basic legal concepts, implicit bias, an accused person’s rights within the system, and ways people can influence systemic fairness. Students also speak with youth impacted by the juvenile and criminal legal systems and learn about careers in the courts. Each Civics Day also includes a Know Your Rights (KYR) workshop aimed at teaching students about their rights, both in school and in their homes and communities, and how to assert those rights during interactions with law enforcement. This year’s KYR workshops were led by speakers from the ACLU of Washington and Team Child.
Intern News:
Our Office Welcomes Two New Legal Interns in March!
