Satterberg, Sherman spar in King Co. prosecutor debate

By NEIL MODIE
P-I REPORTER

BELLEVUE -- Interim King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg, taking the offensive, dismissed as "grandstanding" Wednesday his election opponent's often-repeated promise to try one criminal case a year if he becomes prosecutor.

In a Bellevue debate with Bill Sherman, a deputy prosecutor and a Democrat, Satterberg said Sherman "wants to be, as the elected prosecutor, going into court, pointing the finger at the bad guy and impressing the jury and hoping the media is there to cover his one case a year. To me, that's grandstanding ... It becomes a political event."

A Republican and career prosecutor, Satterberg criticized Sherman more aggressively than he has in their previous public appearances, including a debate last week. He labeled Sherman's tenure in the prosecutor's office "a journeyman's experience, three years in the office, only in the criminal division."

Before now, Satterberg mostly has listened to Sherman criticize decisions and policies of the prosecutor's office and has stressed his own experience as its chief of staff for 17 years under Prosecutor Norm Maleng, who died May 24. Satterberg was appointed to succeed him.

When the candidates were asked the main differences between them, Sherman said it is their attitude toward governing. He said the prosecutor should "not just rest on his laurels" but be an innovative leader who looks to other criminal justice jurisdictions for new initiatives that have proven themselves.

Sherman said he would place greater emphasis and prosecution resources on elder abuse and drug-related crimes. He said King County has one of the few major prosecutor's offices in the country that lacks an environmental crimes section.

The Democrat said he would be more aggressive about prosecuting gun-law violations. And as he has before, he criticized the prosecutor's office for not aggressively prosecuting offenses by King County sheriff's officers that the Post-Intelligencer exposed in 2005 and 2006.

The office, Satterberg retorted, "is not the cesspool of corruption and mismanagement that Bill thinks it is, but you have to say something when you want to throw the bum out of office."

"I think this election is about qualifications," he said, noting that he has been in the prosecutor's office for 22 years and, with Maleng, has seen 180,000 felony cases go through the office in his 17 years as chief of staff.

"Bill has been in the office for three years," Satterberg said. "He has never managed another person during that time. He's never tried a homicide case. He's never been promoted." He said he himself has tried more cases than Sherman has.

Sherman claims a greater breadth of experience, having worked during the Clinton Administration in the offices of the vice president and the secretary of the interior, and in Interior having helped develop a management plan to improve efficiency and reduce costs. He also worked as a civil litigator in a law firm before becoming a deputy prosecutor.

A Republican running in a Democratic county, Satterberg has emphasized his and Maleng's nonpartisan management of the office. "I think this office ought to be a nonpartisan office, quite frankly, and if I'm elected I'm going to work to make this a nonpartisan office" by changing state law and the County Charter, Satterberg said.

City Councilman Richard McIver arrested

By Christina Siderius and Jennifer Sullivan
Seattle Times staff reporters

Seattle City Councilman Richard McIver was arrested and was booked into jail early today for investigation of domestic violence assault.

Seattle police went to McIver's address after receiving a 911 call shortly after midnight. Officers who responded to the Southeast Seattle home determined a physical assault had occurred, said Seattle police Sgt. Deanna Nollette.

McIver's wife, Marlaina Kiner-McIver told an officer that her husband had grabbed her by the throat and arm repeatedly before going on a "profane tirade," according to a Seattle police report. She told police she tried to push him off her at least three times, the report said.

Officers reported that she did not have visible injuries.

Police say McIver admitted that he had been drinking, and was probably drunk, and confirmed he had been in an argument with his wife. He denied making any physical contact during the argument, according to the police report.

King County Jail records show that McIver, 66, was booked shortly after the arrest and was being held without bail.

Anytime police respond to domestic violence calls, officers are required by state law to arrest the person they determine is the primary aggressor, said Seattle Police spokeswoman Reneè Witt. There are no exceptions to that, she said.

The Seattle City Attorney's Office has requested that the King County Prosecutor's Office handle McIver's case "because of a potential conflict of interest," said Dan Donohoe, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office.

Domestic violence offenses in Seattle Municipal Court are either misdemeanors, punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine, or gross misdemeanors, punishable by up to 365 days in jail and a $5,000 fine.

Dawn Mason, a former state representative speaking on Kiner-McIver's behalf, said Kiner-McIver is doing as well as can be expected.

"The best response is to have a strong circle of women around her right now," she said.

"If this is, in fact, alcohol involved, Councilmember McIver will go into treatment because that's a disease," said Mason.

In 1997, McIver was appointed to the council to complete the term of John Manning, a former cop who resigned after pleading guilty to domestic violence.

McIver was elected to a full four-year term later in 1997, then re-elected in 2001 and again in 2005.

McIver is currently chair of the finance and budget committee.

Seattle City Council president Nick Licata said the council "will continue working on items at hand. We will await statements from all parties involved."

Licata said he has not spoken with McIver.

Celebrity Mugshots

Judges asked to reject breath tests from state's troubled toxicology lab

By TRACY JOHNSON
P-I REPORTER

Two Skagit County judges began hearing testimony Monday about problems at the State Patrol toxicology lab that could affect drunken-driving cases across the state.

Defense attorneys are asking the judges to either dismiss the drunken-driving charges against more than 50 people or keep the results of the suspects' breath tests out of court.

The attorneys have begun questioning scientists at the lab, and judges around Washington are expected to rely on the testimony in deciding hundreds or thousands of similar cases in the coming months.

The District Court hearing centers on how the lab makes and tests an ethanol-water solution that's used to make sure the state's breath-test machines are working properly.

The lab's former manager, Ann Marie Gordon, is accused of repeatedly signing statements certifying that she tested the solution when, in fact, she hadn't.

Gordon, who abruptly resigned in July, will be called to testify this week and is expected to take the Fifth Amendment, invoking her right against self-incrimination. King County prosecutors are deciding whether to charge her with perjury.

Defense attorneys say there have been other problems at the lab, including a computer glitch that led to inaccurate data for the solution, which must be mixed in a precise ratio to make sure breath-test machines are giving accurate readings.

The State Patrol, however, has maintained that nothing has affected the accuracy of breath-test results.

A Skagit County deputy prosecutor and an assistant Seattle city attorney will urge the judges to allow the breath-test readings to be used against the suspects.

Police release Seattle man, 84, saying he may have shot son in self-defense

Seattle Times staff

An 84-year-old man arrested Saturday for fatally shooting his 50-year-old son has been released from the King County Jail because Seattle police believe he was acting in self-defense.

When police arrived at the house in the 4600 block of South Cooper Street about 7:30 p.m., the man walked into the front yard with a phone in his hand. Officers found his son dead in a bedroom, police said.

Police spokeswoman Reneé Witt said that the elderly man "complained to some of his family members that this son had been abusive to him and it was becoming more aggressive," Witt said, adding that detectives are still investigating.

The names of the father and his son were not released today.