Case, Staff, Community & Intern News
Case News
Client Receives Deferred Prosecution
Our office submitted a mitigation packet to the government on behalf of a client, a veteran suffering with PTSD symptoms. After consideration by numerous supervisors at the United States Attorney’s Office, the government offered a deferred prosecution agreement, allowing our client to get treatment and return to his career, with the intention of dismissing the case upon successful completion of all terms of the agreement. The defense team included Tacoma AFD Lindsay McCaslin, Seattle AFD Colleen Fitzharris, Tacoma Paralegal Amy Strickling, Research & Writing Specialist Alan Zarky, and Tacoma Investigator Mike Stortini.
Mr. H was sentenced to 20 years for a child pornography offense. This has been a long-fought battle (over four years), where the team, initially consisting of Seattle AFD Greg Geist, Seattle Paralegal Natalya Kim, Chief Investigator Stacey Brownstein, and then-Seattle AFD Mohammad Hamoudi, won a suppression motion but ultimately lost on reconsideration under the good faith doctrine. The team, with the addition of Federal Defender Colin Fieman, Research & Writing Specialist Alan Zarky, and Seattle Paralegal Suzie Strait, appealed the denial of the suppression motion. The Ninth Circuit reversed, holding that the warrant for Mr. H’s computer was overbroad, that the good faith exception did not apply, and that the plain view doctrine did not independently justify the search.
Staff News
Social Worker Appreciation Month!
March is Social Work Appreciation Month, an opportunity to recognize the incredible work our social work/mitigation specialist department does to ensure our clients are not solely judged or defined by their worst days. At our office, social workers are hired as mitigation specialists who advocate for humane sentences by developing mitigation evidence to present fully developed views of our clients and their lives, not merely their charges, to judges, prosecutors, and probation officers. They provide intensive clinical case management services and advocacy for clients at all stages of their criminal cases by conducting assessments and referrals; reviewing records; offering crisis assessment, intervention, and emotional support; and developing release plans proposing alternatives to incarceration. This department also conducts extensive interviews with clients, their families, and other life-history witnesses to create compelling social history reports, family impact statements, research memos, and more.
Our mitigation specialist department co-facilitates reentry programming for in-custody clients, participates in local reentry coalitions, and develops and maintains partnerships with local service providers.
Our mitigation specialist, Kelly Trujillo, LICSW, continues to work alongside First Assistant Defender Corey Endo and Seattle AFD Sara Brin to represent the Federal Defenders in the development of PATHWAY, a comprehensive pre-adjudication diversionary court program that blends treatment, incentives, and sanction alternatives to effectively address participants’ behaviors, quality of life, long-term wellness stability, incarceration costs, and the safety of the community.
Excitingly, our mitigation specialist department also oversees the Master of Social Work (MSW) practicum program, selecting, training, and supervising social work graduate students. Our 2024/2025 MSW interns, Annabelle and Savannah, are pictured below with our MSW Supervisor Kelly.
Cheers to public defense social workers and mitigation specialists who support the office in providing a holistic approach to legal representation. Here is a valuable article regarding death penalty mitigation work and a podcast about social work.
Community News
In partnership with the ACLU of Washington and Community Passageways, Chief Investigator Stacey Brownstein led the 2025 Spring Civics Day across four high schools in the Kent School District. Civics Day was founded in 2016 by former King County Public Defender Twyla Carter. The program continues annually through joint efforts with the Kent School District, the ACLU of Washington, Community Passageways, and other community partners.
FPD’s contribution to Civics Day is consistent with our office’s historical commitment to community engagement by speaking with schools about our work and the criminal legal system. Because these students will one day be voters and jurors, it is vital they learn about civics within the context of the judicial system.
Civics Day also offers the students an opportunity to speak with youth who are or have been involved in the juvenile and adult criminal legal systems, as well as defense investigators, law enforcement, attorneys, prosecutors, social workers, administration staff, and others about their work in the legal community. Each Civics Day also includes a Know Your Rights portion that is presented in collaboration with the ACLU of Washington.
Thank you to the many FPD volunteers who helped make these events a success: Mukund Rathi, Kelly Trujillo, Jesse Cantor, Marissa Lock, Ariel Archie, and Adriane Manigo, as well as other attorneys and investigators.
Intern News
Legal Intern Update:
Congratulations to former intern Holly Broadbent, who interned in the Tacoma office the summer of 2023 as a rising 3L at University of Washington School of Law. Holly was admitted to the Washington Bar in January 2025, is currently clerking at the Washington Supreme Court, and next fall will be clerking for a US District Court Judge in Tacoma. Quite an exciting year for Holly!