Community and Intern News
Community News
Youth Law Day!
On June 5, 2025, our office participated in Youth Law Day. Chief investigator Stacey Brownstein, Seattle AFD Sara Brin, Assistant US Attorneys Lauren Staniar and Cindy Chang, and private counsel Will Dreher organized the event. Youth Law Day is sponsored by the Federal Bar Association—WDWA and is organized in partnership with College Success Foundation (CSF). CSF “coach[es] and support[s] students from low socioeconomic backgrounds to prepare for and graduate from college as transformational leaders in order to forge a just and equitable society.”
Youth Law Day aims to introduce students to a variety of careers in the federal legal system. This year, the program brought students from Auburn and Highline high schools to the Seattle courthouse for a day-long program hosted by the Honorable Richard A. Jones. The morning career panel consisted of Mitigation Specialist Kelly Trujillo, a Seattle investigator, and members of the court community. The panel spoke with the students about career opportunities in IT, legal interpretation, court reporting, jury duty, legal assistant work, and attorney positions at various offices.
During a working lunch session, students had the opportunity to talk with First Assistant Corey Endo and Acting US Attorney Teal Miller to learn about each office and our district. The students were also introduced to a Seattle Police Department K9 who is trained to detect electronic devices.
In the afternoon, the students participated in a mock trial in Judge Jones’s courtroom. Seattle AFDs Dennis Carroll, Leo Costales, Andy Kennedy, Annie Wagner, Sara Brin, and Corey Endo, along with Tacoma Research and Writing Attorney Alan Zarky, worked with a student-led defense team to develop their opening and closing statements and assisted the students with presenting their case. The defense was victorious again with a not-guilty verdict at the end of the mock trial. Our office is always thrilled to join this impactful, fun day with a brilliant group of students. It was a great experience with a lot of entertainment. A huge thank you to the students, CSF, and all the volunteers from our court community!
Intern News
We welcomed six legal interns and two undergrad interns in June.
Legal Interns:
Undergrad Interns:
MSW Intern Update:
Congratulations to our 2024/2025 social work/mitigation specialist interns, Annabelle Mirhashemi, MSW, and Savannah Goguen, MSW, who both graduated with Masters of Social Work from the University of Washington this month.
During their time at the FPD, Annabelle and Savannah did phenomenal work to support our clients by offering brief supportive counseling, drafting release plans and mitigation reports, identifying and hiring experts, and more. Our office gave major kudos to both interns, as did their clients, who remarked they felt "heard, supported, and less alone." We are so thankful for their insight, interdisciplinary collaboration, and unwavering commitment to providing zealous and empathetic representation to people charged with crimes in the federal system.
While June 2025 marked the end of their field placements with our office, we are thrilled to announce that both Annabelle and Savannah will continue their careers in the field of public defense.
Annabelle is joining our FPD office as a 12-month contract Community Resources Case Manager. Within this new role, Annabelle will provide intensive case management services and advocacy for clients at all stages of their criminal proceedings by conducting needs assessments and making referrals to necessary services in the community; providing courtroom advocacy and support by attending hearings focused on release; and forging partnerships with community agencies through community resource coordination and development.
Savannah has started a position with the Washington State Office of Public Defense as a Forensic Civil Commitment (FCC) Contract Social Worker. Within this role, Savannah is supporting and advocating for clients who are subject to involuntary commitments up to 90–180 days under the 71.05 Involuntary Treatment Act. She will work with defense teams to provide case management, release planning, mitigation, and testimony at court hearings on behalf of those hospitalized at the University of Washington’s Center for Behavioral Health and Learning at Olympic Heritage Behavioral Health. As an FCC Social Worker, she also works statewide to support individuals who are currently committed to the Special Commitment Center under RCW 71.09 or who have been found not guilty by reason of insanity under RCW 10.77.
We are confident Annabelle and Savannah will continue to flourish in their careers and are stoked to have them as colleagues in this challenging, fundamental, and necessary field of public defense.
