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A lawyer friend of mine from L.A. recently came to Spokane to play a cameo role in the new movie “Knights of Badassdom” by director Joe Lynch.  “Knights of Badassdom” is the story of a bunch of Live Action Role Players (LARPers) who begin one of their games in the forest. One player apparently casts a spell and inadvertently summons a real demon, that the group must battle.  To the legal world, Larry Zerner is a Los Angeles copyright lawyer. To the world of film buffs Larry Zerner is “Shelly”, a character from the Friday the 13th Movie. In the movie, Shelly brings a hockey mask to scare his friends. Jason gets ahold of the mask, and thus begins the killing spree.  We have never looked at a hockey mask the same since.  I wasn’t even aware that “Knights of Badassdom” was being filmed in Spokane, but I looked back, and sure enough this was covered in the Spokesman-Review.    I look forward to seeing this movie.  The way I understand it, the film is set in New Jersey, but is filmed in the woods near Spokane.  So we will have to see how that works.  Besides Larry Zerner, whose role is a cameo, the film features actor Ryan Kwanton (who played Jason Stackhouse in “Trueblood”), and actress Summer Glau (from the TV series “Firefly”).  Larry Zerner is now an entertainment lawyer in Hollywood.  In 2005, Zerner Larry represented  a writer in a copyright infringement lawsuit against HBO over the television show “Carnivale”.  Also in 2005, Zerner represented the original homeowners in a lawsuit over the remake of  the movie “The Amityville Horror”.

There isn’t a trailer yet of the movie “Knights of Badassdom” because it is still in production.  Here is a link to the trailer of “Friday the 13th (Part 3).

O.k. it is not the most scientific of studies, but my new Facebook “quiz” went live last night asking people if them “What Felony Will You Commit in Your Life Time?  Check out the quiz.  It is really just a prototype to test drive this whole quiz thing.  I hope to improve it with more crime categories, and with the formulation of intelligent screening questions.

I always like to hear what someone has to say when they are leaving a job.  Leaving a job definitely allows people to be pretty candid about their experience. When I stepped down from my position as the GMA lawyer for Ferry County, I took the opportunity to criticize the groups Riparian Owners of Ferry County and the Stevens County Farm Bureau for their frivolous suits against Ferry County.  See post. Well this week was Michael Haas’ turn to tell us what he thinks.  The Omak-Chronicle reporter Al Camp interviewed Haas about his departure and his planned move back to Port Townsend.  At first the article explained that he was leaving for family reasons, and then Haas went on to lavish compliments on many of the court house staff. He is quoted as saying:  “Overall, your judicial system works well. Your judges are thoughtful, respectful and take their jobs seriously… The same is true for your prosecutor’s office and the county commissioners.”  Just when I was getting ready to think this was a fluff piece that Al Camp wrote, I saw what Haas had to say about law enforcement in Okanogan County.  “…[T]he overall quality of investigations in Okanogan County is abysmal.”   Al Camp explains that Haas said that part of the problem is all the small police departments, though he said the sheriff’s office left much to be desired as well.  Haas questioned the decision of every municipality to set up their own police force, and added that the police could benefit by better and regular training.

So what sort of letters to the editor is this article going to provoke?   I guess we will see when the new paper comes out tomorrow.  Though Haas would certainly know better than me about Okanogan, I am not sure Okanogan police investigations are really that much worse than other rural areas.    In all rural areas, it seems like unproductive officers are allowed to stay on working because it is too hard to get rid of them.  Then you have some inexperienced officers who are totally gung-ho, but really don’t know what they are doing and don’t have the patience to listen and learn from the prosecutors.  A lot of the really good cops end up getting lured away by bigger departments that can afford to pay more.  When I used to work as a prosecutor, the police definitely used to drive me crazy.  Some of the police I worked with often turned in lackluster work, but would expect superhuman results from me as a prosecutor.

Although I didn’t get to know him real well, I always liked Michael Haas.  He knew a lot of about the law, kept up-to-date with new changes in the law, and was always pretty collegial.  I blogged about case he was involved in when he first came to town.  See post.

What do you think?  Is Haas right that there is room for improvement in Okanogan County law enforcement?  Is he simply saying what others are too timid to mention?  In the article Haas mentions that more funding should be spent on drug recovery programs than drug enforcement?  What do you think of that?

I notified Ferry County recently of my intention to give up the legal contract for GMA (Growth Management Act). I have defended Ferry County from GMA appeals for 12 years. For five of those years, I was the elected prosecutor. When I did not run for re-election in 2002, the county commissioners kept me on for a “temporary basis” that has stretched on to today. The work has been exciting, and was constantly changing. I worked with eight different county commissioners. I watched each one learn a great deal about the complex Growth Management Act, and watched their outlook on the law change as the law itself changed. When I first started representing the county, a lawyer on the coast told me that there was no such thing as a GMA expert. The law was too new, and everyone, including the Growth Management Hearings Board was still learning as they went.

I decided to give up the contract this year because I got too busy with my criminal work. I have had three homicide jury trials this year already, and have one more to go. These homicide cases obviously take a lot of time. Also, another reason I gave the work up was some of the people on the planning commission that I enjoyed working with have moved on.

My last day will be August 31st. My only hesitancy in leaving is my concern about the defense of the county from new threats that have emerged in the last year. The groups Riparian Owners of Ferry County and the Stevens County Farm Bureau have both filed recent appeals or petitions against Ferry County. The cases were soundly rejected by the GMA Board, and no appeals to court followed. But further appeals from the Riparian Owners of Ferry County and the Stevens County Farm Bureau would mean a considerable increase in defense costs on top of what is expended to defend the county from Futurewise and the Concerned Friends of Ferry County.

I may still do some GMA work for private clients from time to time. Since I have been in private practice, I have on occasion done GMA work in other counties. I represented private landowners and farmers in GMA appeals in Stevens County against a city government. Additionally, I have done some consulting work to private parties in Okanogan County. We will see what the future holds.

I blogged last month about Northwest Justice, and their Tenants Rights class in Colville.  See post. Now the class is coming to Republic, WA.  You need to sign up in advance, and the class is 9 to 12 at the Northern Inn Conference Room on July 23rd.  I didn’t attend the class in Colville, but I would imagine the class would help educate tenants about their rights on such matters as landlord entry for inspections, a tenants options when a landlord delays repairs, and what to do when you are behind on rent, what your rights are when facing eviction, and what to do when a landlord doesn’t return your deposit.   The class is a good public service because a lot of attorneys (me included) do not handle landlord-tenant matters.  Another good resource is here.

A couple of years ago, the state Access to Justice Board tried to increase the presence of pro bono legal services in the rural parts of the State.   The Northwest Justice Project opened four new offices across the state, including an office in Colville.   The office is at 132 W 1st Avenue where the barber shop used to be.  It is right next door to Cafe 103.   The Northwest Justice Project (NJP) is a not-for-profit statewide organization that provides free civil legal services to low-income people.  For you Facebook junkies, the NJP just started a site right here.  It is low on content and friends, but was just started last week.  What does NJP offer?  Well, they are having a class in Colville on your rights as a tenant.  I don’t do eviction cases, so I was glad to post their flyer in my lobby.  The class will be taught by NJP lawyer Kerry Summers and one other lawyer whose name escapes me.  If you live in Ferry or Pend Oreille County, you don’t have to drive to Colville.  There will be classes coming to Republic and to Newport too I believe.

I am on the road for court a lot, and I am too cheap to by a AT&T wireless internet card for my MacBook.

Finding a Wi-Fi signal in the rural West can be challenging

So that means I am constantly looking for a coffee shop with  good Wi-Fi signal.  And they are harder to find then you might think.  So I figured I would start an on-line list.  Please email me or comment if you know of others.  I am only interested in coffee shops with free wi-fi in the 509 area code.  Urbanspoon.com has tried to catalog the free Wi-Fi coffee shops here, but tons of good shops are missing.  You will note that that site has a place where you can nominate othersites for inclusion, but they have not added any of my suggestions, and it has been 6 weeks. 🙁

In Colville, Washington, check out Cafe 103 – This place is in Colville on Main Street, 103 North Main in fact.  Check out their Facebook page here.   Cafe 103 has good free high-speed wi-fi, and good coffee, and a restaurant.  I have only had a sandwich there one.  Also check out Fairy Tale Bakery – This place doesn’t have a big web presence, but their Merchant Circle page is here.  They have free wi-fi, and good coffee and food, and maybe more pastries then Cafe 103.  Since they are just 4 or 5 blocks from Cafe 103, the Fairy Tale Bakery is probably their main competitor.  I don’t know which is better, but I know the Fairy Tale bakery is closed on Sundays and Mondays.  They are at 576 North Wynne, and it is one block North of Safeway.

In Chewelah, check out the Cougar Bakery, which just opened up where Treffz used to be.  In fact, the Treffz sign is still up.  I just got a coffee there Sunday, but didn’t try their food.  But its got Wi-Fi and is just one or two blocks off of HWY 395, so I am definitely putting them on this list.  They are at 209 East Main St.   You gotta love their minimalist web presence, here. UPDATE FROM 11/27/10: THIS PLACE IS NOW CLOSED.  They still hadn’t removed the Trefz sign that the previous owners had left.  I hope something new moves in there, or maybe Chewelah will be just another town with a bunch of “for rent” signs in every store front.  Is there another wi-fi coffee shop in Chewelah that doesn’t suck? Let me know.

In Spokane, check out Madeleine’s –  I went to this place for breakfast two days in a row last weekend.  It is at the corner of Main and Wall in downtown Spokane.  Parking can be a pain.

In Omak, check out The Corner Bistro at 19 E. Apple Avenue.  It is basically right behind the Chinese Restaurant on the main drag.  I think it is called China Star or something like that.  I lived in Omak for 3 weeks last month, and ate at this place lots.  Good Wi-Fi.

In Ephrata, check out the Rock Creek Ice Cream shop on 26 Basin Street NW which is pretty much the main drag in town.  It is owned by the Blue Flame Restaurant next door and they have free wi-fi.  This place just opened up recently.  The ice cream shop also serves espresso.  Nice place.   The nice folks who run the place have heavy accents, so when you ask for the wi-fi password, you may want them to write it down for you.

What am I missing?  Are there any in Kettle Falls, Addy, Soap Lake, Tonasket (actually i just thought of one I can add later), Deer Park?  Let me know.  I won’t do new posts, I will just add this list.  The criteria for listing is that they must have a free, good Wi-Fi signal.  It is o.k. if you have to get their password.  All the nieghbor kids don’t need to be mooching the signal 24/7.  I don’t really want to list restaurants per se, because you need to be able to just buy a 2 dollar coffee and sit their for 90 minutes without feeling out of place.  And the places can’t suck, for whatever reason.

Well it’s the end of an era.  Prosecutor Jonnie Bray of the Colville Confederated Tribes is calling it quits on May 28th, after about 15 years with the tribe.  She seemed like a permanent fixture in Nespelem, outlasting police chiefs,  judges, public defenders,  and council members.

Council table for the prosecution in Tribal Court.

Never the permanent lead prosecutor, Bray took less of a leadership roll, and more the roll of the “heavy-lifter”.  In what seemed like a thankless job, she took on the cases of legal complexity, the jurisdictional disputes, the tough sex crimes, and homicides.  Often working without a lead prosecutor, the work (from the outsider’s perspective) seemed pretty overwhelming, and I often wondered when things would “snap”.  But they never did.  Although my contacts with Tribal leadership were pretty limited, I never really got the impression that people fully appreciated just how much she held things together down there.   In a court system where people often bite their tongues, Bray was usually pretty outspoken with her observations.  In an interview with a reporter from The Wenatchee-World last year, Bray wasn’t shy about questioning why the FBI and federal prosecutor don’t assist more in prosecutions on Indian land.  (See story).  As with any rural area, the jury pool in Tribal Court is small and can be wary of law enforcement.    Bray had a knack for convictions, and out-of-town defense lawyers usually preferred to square off against the non-tribal, juris-doctorate types, who were usually selected as lead prosecutor or special prosecutor.

I asked Bray once about her short stint as a defense lawyer 15 years ago.  She said she realized that she wanted to be a prosecutor after working on defending her first child abuse case.  Jonnie Bray will be moving to the Southwest to go work for the Hopi Nation.   The Hopi are lucky to have her.

I received a message today from a friend on Facebook letting me know about a rally in Spokane to encourage the city council to enact stronger laws to ensure police accountability.  The Facebook page reads:

On May 17th the Spokane City Council will be voting on an ordinance to mandate that the Police Ombudsman conduct independent investigations and issue public reports about Spokane Police conduct. Right now, investigations are conducted by the Internal Affairs dept of the police.
Come urge City Council members to vote YES on this important step forward! Come join members of the Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane, MEChA of EWU, SHAWL Society, Progressive Democrats, NAACP, NAMI, CORD, VOICES, Need to Know, Center for Justice, Eastern Washington Voters, and Odyssey Youth Center to support this ordinance.
Rally at 5p; City Council meeting at 6p.
More info: contact PJALS at 838-7870 or pjals@pjals.net

After the death of Otto Zehm in Spokane  in 2006, I often think about the subject of police accountability.

Carl Maxey complained about a lack of police accountability in Spokane back in 1975. On May 17th the Spokane City Council will vote on a law to try to change the system.

(I have blogged about the subject here, here and here.)  The announcement I received today made me think of a book called Carl Maxey, a Fighting Life by Jim Kershner, a reporter for the Spokesman-Review.     As we know Maxey, a black lawyer from Spokane, was a champion of the civil rights movement and the anti-war movement before his death in 1997.  But he also was a strident advocate for police accountability in Spokane.   Maxey was perpetually frustrated by the subject.   After a coroner’s inquest justified the police shooting of a black teenager in the back, Maxey complained: “It’s apparent from this travesty that there must be a viable method or getting a full and complete investigation when a death is caused by a policeman.  At present, a citizen has no protection against the police.”  Thirty-five years later, Spokane still does not have sufficient independent over site of police misconduct.  The new proposed law before the city council would give the independent ombudsman greater authority by conducting independent investigations of police officer actions.

When I worked as a prosecutor I was often troubled by the lack of legitimate recourse citizens had when they felt aggrieved by police actions.  It seems like the only recourse is to go to a lawyer and sue.  And in that case it is usually the tax payer that loses out rather than the individual officer.  Last year I represented a Native-American man who was accused of assaulting a police officer in Spokane.  An independent witness came forward on the day of trial and testified that she looked out her window and saw what really happened.  She testified that my client did not assault the police officer, and in fact described instead what would be considered excessive force by the police.   Not surprisingly my client was acquitted.  However, he still has the scars from the use of the taser, and he missed a considerable amount of work due to the incident.  Like Maxey, my client is still waiting for a system to be created that provides for independent investigations into the use of force.

Let’s see what the Spokane City Council does later this month.  Check out the website of PJALS for more info on this subject.

In today’s Doonesbury cartoon in the Spokesman-Review, Alex Doonesbury starts an argument with some guys wearing guns in a coffee shop.  They respond by implying that her boyfriend Leo is not manly enough to pack a gun.  Leo is an Iraq War vet and he puts them in their place.

I blogged last summer about the open carry movement in rural Washington, and I have been tracking it for about 3 years.  When I wrote that blog post last summer, I really thought more would come of the movement in rural areas.  However, it really seems to be more of an urban thing.  It seems as if the open-carry advocates are focusing on the Seattle and San Francisco Bay areas.  Check out a good article in the Seattle PI about the subject of Starbucks’ decision not to prohibit open-carry in their stores.  See here.   The odd thing about this issue is that I think a lot of urbanites assume open-carry occurs in rural areas.  I live in a very rural area with no local gun ordinances, and I literally do not recall a single instance of open carry here in the 15 years that I lived here.   I have obviously seen people armed at the gun range, out hunting, or even on their own property in Ferry, Stevens and Okanogan County.  But I have never seen someone just come into the supermarket or coffee shop bearing a side arm in open view.

To view the full Doonesbury cartoon online click here.  (Note that if you visit this cartoon after Sunday, you will have to click “previous” at the top of the cartoon to see Sunday’s strip.)  Also, check out this youtube video.

Watching this video it is hard to tell who is supporting what side. Seattle is a weird place.