News Release 2001-11
October 18, 2001
TWO CIVIL LAWSUITS AGAINST COUNTY OFFICIALS END QUIETLY
Two lawsuits against San Juan County officials ended quietly in favor of the County. "It is an unfortunate aspect of modern government service that officials may be sued, even when they do the right thing," said prosecutor Randall K. Gaylord.
The first case began when Andrew Seltser requested copies of a case file from the prosecutor’s office. At the time of his public records request, the case was under investigation, and no charging decision had been made. The prosecutor initiated the lawsuit and asked the Court to review the requested documents in a closed proceeding to determine whether they should be released. The Court looked at the documents, but declined to order them released. Mr. Seltser appealed the decision to the Court of Appeals in Seattle.
Several months later, the prosecutor decided not to file charges and released the documents to Mr. Seltser. On October 11, 2001, the Court of Appeals entered its final ruling and dismissed the appeal on the basis that the case became moot once the prosecutor released the records.
"This case raised important issues regarding the pretrial access to prosecutor files," said Gaylord. "Prosecutors understand their files may become public. The issue is, when does this happen. It is our position that prosecutor case files become public only when the case is resolved."
Gaylord said this issue is generating considerable discussion between prosecutors and legislators. At a recent conference, Gaylord said the public disclosure laws conflict with a prosecutor’s ethical responsibilities to protect the trial process. "The public records act should not interfere with a fair trial process," added Gaylord.
In the second case, a lawsuit claiming hiring discrimination was dismissed by agreement of the parties. Edmund Sawyer had sued the County and four County officials. The County officials countersued for a frivolous lawsuit. The case was resolved when both sides voluntarily gave up their claims against the other. "No one was paid money to settle the case involving Sawyer," said Gaylord.
The defense in the Sawyer case was provided by William H. Beaver, attorney with the Karr, Tuttle, Campbell law firm in Seattle, and paid for by the Washington Counties Risk Pool.
Randall K. Gaylord