Case, Staff, & PATHWAY News
Case News
Client Receives Probationary Sentence!
Tacoma Paralegals Amy Strickling and Julie Valencia, Seattle Investigator Mahkaea Jackson-Sams, and Tacoma AFDs Elizabeth Sher and Becky Fish, along with former FPD interns Latti Tamiru and Margaret Green, achieved a probationary sentence for a young client charged with a serious crime that he committed when he was 22 years old. The client worked hard over more than a year to engage in supportive treatment, to work consistently, and to demonstrate he could be trusted. During this time, the defense team successfully litigated issues related to his pretrial release to allow the client to practice his religion, which was important to his growth and healing. The client, his family, and his community worked with the defense team to present the big picture of his life, the charged conduct, and his impact on his family and community to the Judge at sentencing—all of which resulted in an offer to plead to an alternative charge that limited collateral consequences. Considering all this information, the Judge recognized the client’s immense progress since the commission of the crime and agreed he could be held accountable for the harm he caused without prison. The Judge sentenced the client to five years of probation with six months of home detention and community service.
Mitigation Specialist Kelly Trujillo, Tacoma AFDs Heather Carroll and Elizabeth Sher, and Tacoma Paralegal Alma Coria (with other paralegals pitching in on various pleadings) collaborated to successfully win a detention appeal and get our client released to supportive housing. The client was initially detained following a detention hearing before a Magistrate Court in the fall. The team worked to develop a thorough release plan with wraparound services in the community.
Although ultimately supported by Pretrial Services, the Magistrate Court denied the motion to reopen the detention hearing. The team appealed the detention order to the District Court. After a contested hearing, the District Court Judge granted the defense team’s motion (still supported by Pretrial Services) and released the client on pretrial supervision.
Chief Investigator and a Tacoma Paralegal worked heroically to gain release of a client in a presumption of detention case. It took four court hearings, but the client is now out of custody and happy to be able to receive the necessary medical care that was not being provided by the Federal Detention Center.
Staff News
Raymond “Ray” Denecke joined us this month as the District’s new CJA Panel Coordinating Attorney. Ray is a seasoned defense attorney who also has a strong administrative background. He’s worked as a trial attorney and appellate defender in Oklahoma, as a research and writing attorney with the Northern District of Florida Capital Habeas Unit, and most recently at the highly regarded New Hampshire Public Defender. He was also detailed to the Defender Services Office for two years, where he helped launch the Non-Capital Fellowship Program and worked on cyclical performance reviews of Federal Defender Offices and CJA Panel programs. Ray was an undergraduate at Florida State University and also got a Master’s degree there in Criminology. He obtained his law degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law. Welcome Ray!
PATHWAY News
This month, PATHWAY welcomed their second participant into the Western District of Washington's comprehensive pre-adjudication diversionary court program that blends treatment, incentives, and sanction alternatives to effectively address participants’ behavior, quality of life, long-term wellness and stability, incarceration costs, and the safety of the community. Learn more about this specialized therapeutic court.