In the previous episode, “Detour,” I set forth the obscene amount of money King County had paid to a private law firm to crush a former public defender who had the huevos to sue The Department of Public Defense for a number of workplace offenses. At that time, before the trial started, the county had paid the Calfo, Eakes law firm almost three million dollars to fight off Sheila LaRose. I will update the amount soon, but after two months of trial my guess is the county’s attorney fees jumped up at least another million dollars.
I suspended my journal for a while because I was a listed witness in Sheila LaRose’s law suit against King County and the Department of Public Defense. Aside from reporting the amount of attorney fees, which is public record, it would have been inappropriate for me to comment on the merits of the case before I testified. In the end, my testimony was not needed.
Not needed at all because without hearing from me, the jury today (10/21/21) awarded Sheila seven million dollars.
I wish I could have been in the courtroom when the verdict was read. To have seen the looks on the faces of the county’s attorneys when the words “in the amount of seven million dollars” were read – how satisfying that would have been.
I have tremendous admiration for Sheila and her attorneys, led by Mary Ruth Mann. Against the odds, Sheila and her team kept up the fight for the last six years. While Sheila couldn’t work and had very little money, the county spent millions of dollars in attorney fees to the Calfo, Eakes law firm. It was not a fair fight with the county’s attorneys armed with all the litigation weapons money can buy. All Sheila had was the truth and an impartial jury of regular people.
I, also, admire the present and former co-workers of Sheila who spoke the truth and remained strong in the face of attempted intimidation by the county’s attorneys. It’s not easy to tell the truth when your employer prefers a different story. The TDAD employees who stood on the truth for Sheila embodied a characteristic totally missing from DPD’s administration, TDAD’s management, and many of the county’s witnesses: HONOR.
Soon I will tell what I know about the county’s bully tactics against Sheila and her witnesses. Tonight, though, I will sleep well knowing that once in a while the right thing happens.
Observations 