Author Archive

I went to see the art opening for Western painter Everett Russell at the Gold Mountains Arts Gallery last Friday night. Everett and his wife were there. Everett’s art reminds me about some of the reasons I like living out West.

Everett Russell lives in my town, and one of his murals greets visitors on the side of a prominent building in town. Although many of his paintings are of Ferry County, some of my favorites are paintings that he has done of the South West. At the Gold Mountains Arts Gallery he has a painting that he did while traveling in Southern Utah. In my opinion, Everett Russell is old-school and focuses on his art, and doesn’t engage in a lot of self-promotion. Some day I would like to buy a couple of his paintings for my law office.

Earlier this week many local Native-American tribes protested the Federal government policies restricting their rights to cross the Canadian border. The problem had been brewing for some time. See High Country News.

When I first moved to Ferry County in 1996, it seemed as if this was the county that was poised to enter big legal battles with the Colville Confederated Tribes.  The two governments were set to square off over who had primary jurisdiction to regulate land owned by non-Tribal members on the Reservation.  The subject dominated local politics and was the subject of frequent letters to the editor.  The Tribes were rumored to have a “million dollar war chest” to fund any litigation with the county.  The county commissioners appointed me county attorney in April 1998, and I urged caution on the part of the county. When you are looking for a good “test case” to bring to court, you don’t necessarily want to join the side of the first non-Tribal landowner to raise his hand.  In the end, a legal battle was avoided, and in my opinion Ferry County and the Tribes have worked together fairly well for the last ten years.

So I am glad to see that it was the Federal government this time that has drawn the ire of the Colville Tribes and has been accused of violating treaty rights.  This has come to the media’s attention rather recently as Tribal members have become fed up with being harassed by U.S. Border officials as they travel to and from their ancestral homelands across the border in British Columbia.  As someone who lives near the border myself, I have often found it frustrating to deal with border officials when I travel to Canada.  In addition, as an attorney I often represent defendants who get caught up in border issues.  The difference, of course, is that local Tribal members have special treaty rights to cross the border.  Under the Jay Treaty of 1794, Native-Americans were granted the right to engage in trade and travel between the United States and Canada, which was then British Territory.  Until 9/11 no one seemed to question the rights of Tribal members to travel to and from Canada with just their tribal ID cards.  But now, there is pressure on the Tribal members to give up the ID cards of their own government and to use passports or state enhanced drivers licenses. Local tribes are now considering issuing their own passports.

This controversy boiled over on June 1st as local Native Americans and Tribal members from Canada staged a protest in the border town of Night Hawk.  The protest was peaceful, but the Omak-Chronicle reported that it involved the removal of a border fence.  The Border Patrol did not try to intervene as the Tribal members crossed the border and back again.  I have to hand it to these protesters.  It took courage to take that step. I would have half expected the Feds to arrest some of them.  But I guess then it would have become a national story, rather than just a regional story.  I hope the Tribes pursue their rights in this respect.  Often it is the local governments or the States that are accused of violating treaty rights,  the Tribes are right to stand up to the Federal government too.  The Tribes in the U.S. sometimes seem to be the favorite underdog of the federal judiciary.  I can easily see the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals approving the rights of Tribal members to set up their own border check point.  However, unlike 10 years ago, when the Colville Confederated Tribes had money set aside for litigation, the Tribes now are suffering a budget crisis.  This border issue is something that I will try to follow closely.

What do you think?  What will come of this issue?  Is it fair to ask Native Americans to use State ID cards when they enjoy rights to sovereignty?

My father was an engineer. He always marveled at how many bridges and aqueducts of the Roman Empire are still left standing. But he was perplexed at how many public works projects here in the U.S. are just disasters.

The Pont du Gard aqueduct was built by the Romans in approximately 19 BC. It still stands today.

But what Washington public works projects will last as long as the Pont du Gard?

This question came to mind when I started seeing a bunch of new public works projects in this area. I heard the federal government was assisting in some projects as part of an economic stimulus bill. I remember when the City of Republic had a new shop built ten years ago. It collapsed soon after it was built under the weight of a heavy snow fall. I also noticed how the newly constructed front steps of the court house have begun to crumble and have been roped off.
In Spokane in 2006 the River Park Square parking garage crumbled and allowed a vehicle to roll out and fall five stories to the ground killing someone.
What is to be done about the slipshod work of construction companies on public works projects? What public works disasters am I over looking in the area of Okanogan, Ferry, and Stevens County? Email any photos that you think I should post to steve@grahamdefense.com.

Let’s face it, I live in a pretty small town.   To have Justice Korsmo drive up three hours from the court of appeals to judge our Mock Trial Competition is a pretty big deal.    I wondered how it would be to have an appellate judge sitting in a trial court, but Kevin Korsmo is a natural.   He is also pretty good working with kids, and the teachers agreed.

Justice Korsmo accepts his certificate of appreciation

Justice Korsmo presided over the battle between the senior classes of Republic High School and Curlew High School.   Each side had the chance to present the prosecution case, and the defense case in a hypothetical case of People v. Terry Bell.   Terry Bell was charged with arson and incitement, but was acquitted each time by a jury of grade schoolers.  I coached the Republic High School team, and our elected prosecutor Mike Sandona coached the Curlew High School team.

Mike Sandona works the crowd. These high school seniors will be eligible voters when he faces re-election next year.

Coaching a mock trial team is just about the only volunteer activity I do, and I have done it since 1997.    In a good year you can get the kids as competitively charged as they would be in a basketball game against their rival.   This year, both schools had their fair share of over-achievers, and I am always impressed at the number of local graduates who go off to top schools, many with scholarships.   But in addition sometimes the competition makes stars of kids who are not academically inclined.   In the end, what often prevails is a combative spirit.   I usually end up getting to know some of these mock trial champs pretty well.   Every so often there will be a kid who already wants to be a lawyer.   Occasionally there will be a kid of such precocity, that I will already imagine them kicking my butt in court in seven short years.

(Note: I will be posting some pictures of a couple of the student lawyers as soon as I can get their permission.)

On June 8th, I will be posting a poll to gauge what the public might be looking for in a Sheriff candidate next year in Ferry County.   Who do you think might be a good candidate?   As of now, I am going to post Pete Warner, Tom Williams, and Bret Roberts.   I don’t know what plans they might have on whether or not to run, but those are the three individuals in the area that have run for Sheriff in the past and are still employed in law enforcement.   Does anyone have any other suggestions for anybody else who should run, or should be included in this poll?   Have your suggestions in by the 5th.