We are all gathered. Back in the courtroom. Two and a half hours after closing ended. The presiding juror has handed the verdict up. The judge has read it. Trying to keep face unreadable. Hands it to the bailiff. Who reads it.
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Last week, the City told me that a yard blower was a weapon and grounds for arrest when used by a protester to protect others from tear gas. Number of victims: 0. A few days later, the parents of Summer Taylor gave gut wrenching statements during the sentencing the drunk (drugs primarily) driver who took their child’s life and almost killed another.
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m sitting in a room that is 8 x 6 ‘. Lynette the jury coordinator let me in. My own private cubicle to stay during the lunch hour. The desk is a cabinet with drawers. I love it all.
We started at 11 this morning because the judge had a conflict. One hour to argue. One hour to get frustrated arguing about the same three blasted depositions.
JHB is all over the place. Yet am not fooled. He is persistent and dogged and even if he’s wrong that is his schtick.
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There used to be a club called Mr. Lucky that was directly across the street from the sonics arena at the Seattle Center. On April 19, 2004, at 2 am when the club emptied out into the parking a large fight broke out involving two dozen people. Security more or less let them go at it.
Phuon Mensaveng was a 24 year old father no bigger than I. He was in the melee. A tall bodybuilder type took a four foot metal pipe and swung it as had as he could at Phoun’s face, knocking him to the ground. As Phuon lay dying, people began to kick him. It was ugly. Hideous.
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We are unbelievably humbled to be surrounded by you all this morning. The work of this community is to seek justice for those who for centuries have been victims of oppression, violence, discrimination, and death. And so we deeply thank you for extending your love to our child.
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Learned last week that we did not win the nomination to be a finalist in the running to be the 2019 Trial Lawyer of the Year for Public Justice. When Brad told me - he said - I know you don’t care. And he was right. Because I had given it almost no thought. It was an honor to be nominated. But our case was not the typical Public Justice type of fight. We weren’t a class action. It wasn’t about a toxic tort.
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Taking a late lunch break. Eating a salad from Veggie Grill. Looking at the paper online. Should have waited for that.
Almost throw up inside of mouth. Bankrupt ride the Ducks Seattle is having an auction. On the one hand - am proud the end result of the jury’s verdict was to shut that company down. But the thought of those death traps being sold…
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On September 24, 2015 - beautiful inside and out HaRam Kim was injured in the Ride the Ducks Aurora Bridge crash. She was taken to Harborview where she survived for several days. Just long enough for her loving family to fly from Korea to see her one last time.
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Yesterday, the State Senate, approved a motion to amend Washington’s wrongful death act.
According to the Associated Press:
In debate before the vote, the bill's sponsor said the provision stemmed from efforts by business interests at the beginning of the 20th century to block claims made by the families of Chinese miners killed in workplace accidents.
"This law has its roots in racist origins," said Sen. Bob Hasegawa, D-Seattle. State documents date the provision in the law to 1909. Hasegawa's language echoed claims by the Korean parents of a student killed in the Ride the Ducks crash.
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Today’s uber driver is from Romania where everyone crushes grapes in vats at their homes. Some is saved as grape juice for the kids. The rest is put in a bottle. In 6 months there is good wine. Better than you can get at Safeway. He would like me to use uberXL versus uberX. The numerous reasons range from the safer more superior status of his SUV to what difference does a few more bucks make if we are all going to die anyway. Drops me off.
Get through security without beeping. Climb 9 flights. Enter on the dot at 8:30 as ordered by the court so we can address pretrial matters. 8:45 Mr. Ulmer announced her honor will be arriving in 7 minutes. Her bus has been delayed again. She arrives.
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Two weeks after Liam is born we start the Ride the Ducks Aurora Bridge trial. In the months leading up to the trial stop writing or discussing the case publicly. This includes to the media, to social media, to this blog.
The jurors will be instructed not to read, watch, or listen to anything about this case. They will not be reading this blog for example. So it is not quite clear how pretrial publicity especially in a civil case can be prejudicial if the lawyers talk to the media which the jurors will not be reading. Rather than debate the issue look to The Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC) 3.6.
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Under Washington law, wrongful death actions are strictly governed by statute. Atchison v. Great W. Malting Co., 161 Wn.2d 372 (2007). When the death of a person is caused by the wrongful act of another, the decedent's personal representative may maintain an action for damages. RCW 4.20.010.
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This is the full text of the amended complaint adding the City of Seattle as a defendant in the civil rights/wrongful death case involving the shooting of Charleena Lyles by the Seattle Police Department June 18, 2017.
Amended Complaint FINAL 101217
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I am looking at the Medical Examiner's chart. She has been shot 7 times. 7 pieces of metal are either in or have gone through her small body. The same height as mine. But more slender. Her face is beautiful. It was spared. They aimed at her middle.
I count the bullet holes on the front of the body diagram. Then on the back. There are more than 7 holes. Some bullets count for 2 holes each. In. Out.
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Sometimes my job is sickening. I get the whole idea of defense lawyers attacking my clients in order to make sure they are telling the truth. But what I can never get used to are the grotesque tactical maneuvers used by some defense lawyers to save an insurance company a buck.
Here are a few excerpts from an argument I made to the Court opposing defense counsel's motion to dismiss a father's claim for the wrongful death of his child. Before reading this: a) put on a white jacket; b) stand up fully; c) employ wonder woman frown; d) thrust out chin; and e) use extra emphasis when using the word: "repulsive."
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A few days before Thanksgiving a defendant corporation sends me the report of its expert accountant. This person's job is to place a value on the life of a two and a half year old child who has died as the result of the negligence of others.
In our state the way we decide the "value" of loss of life under such circumstances is to project what the child would have grown up and earned during her life time. Less what the child would have consumed. The amount that is left over is called "net accumulations" and this cold calculation = value of the life lost.
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Prologue: This case involves a third trimester pregnant woman who was a passenger in a car. The car was t-boned by someone else. The mother was injured and the baby died.
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Technology is changing the way we are able to visualize everything. This 3D imaging study shows a picture that makes more sense to us than would a simple xray.
In this case, a worker was killed on the job when he was installing a defective device. The electrical system in the piece of equipment had been negligently manufactured. When he started to install it, the device shorted and launched like a rocket into his face. He survived the impact but died in the hospital about a month later.
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Setting: We are in a downtown Seattle conference room. The sky is deep blue. The sun is shining. Its rays bounce like mirrors off the skyscrapers and rippling waterways below us. Eric the videographer is at the far end of the table. Jane the court reporter is her usual excellent self. Cheryl our medical negligence paralegal is by my side. Across the table are the defense lawyers. In front of a gray screen sits the witness. The defense side is somber. I am feisty. We are about an hour an a half into the deposition.
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The calls are coming in with increasing frequency. Loves ones have died after simple medical procedures. The cause: killer bacteria introduced into the body sometime during or after the procedure. Surgical incisions aren't even necessary.
The survivors are usually in shock. One day the husband has some problem with the digestive tract and is going in for an exploratory scope. A little while later, his organs have rotted and died from the inside out due to a hospital introduced micro piranha feeding frenzy.
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