Dano to represent victim's parents in upcoming murder trial
Appointment unprecedented in county, maybe state
EPHRATA — The mother and father of a special-education student at Ephrata Middle School who was brutally killed more than three years ago will be provided with a publicly-funded defense attorney during what is expected to be a six-week murder trial beginning April 3.
Moses Lake-based attorney Garth Dano was appointed to represent Chuck and Lisa Sorger, whose 13-year-old son Craig Sorger was killed in February 2003.
Dano's hourly rate for this case has been set at $145, with an initial limit of $1,500. The Grant County Board of Commissioners may approve more funding. They approved the initial funding last week.
This is the first such appointment of a public defender to a victim's family in Grant County, possibly the state, according to county officials.
Evan Drake Savoie, 15, is accused in the death of Craig Sorger at Ephrata's Oasis Park. His trial is expected to begin in less than two weeks in Grant County Superior Court. Co-defendant Jake Eakin, 15, pleaded guilty last spring to being an accomplice to the killing and was sentenced to more than 14 years.
Eakin, of Moses Lake, and Savoie, of Ephrata, were 12 years old when Craig Sorger was killed. Eakin has agreed to testify against Savoie.
Although it is not entirely clear why Dano was appointed, a superior court judge signed an order doing so "to protect (the family's) rights," court documents state.
The Grant County Prosecutor's Office, though, has accused defense attorneys representing Savoie of "abusing the discovery process, attempting to obtain and exploit copies of otherwise privileged and confidential records relating to the victim, including private and sensitive records in the custody and control of Grant Mental HealthCare," in a March 10 letter to the county commissioners.
That letter to the commissioners was sent seeking money to appoint Dano.
The defense attorneys representing Savoie are requesting interviews with a case worker and director at Grant Mental HealthCare regarding Craig Sorger.
The defense attorneys may also be attempting to obtain and use copies of mental health records relating to Craig Sorger in their case.
Defense attorney Randy Smith confirmed in an interview Tuesday that they are seeking an investigative interview with the mental health care providers, but have not conducted the interview yet.
He could not say whether he has had access to Craig Sorger's mental health records.
Court documents submitted by the prosecutor's office question the value public scrutiny of Craig Sorger's personal mental health records can provide the defense attorneys.
"Can (the defense) establish that he must examine the most private and intimate details of the murder victim's very personal life for his defense?" the documents state.
Prosecutors also questioned whether, "it is reasonable and necessary to interview the murder victim's mental health care providers to 'prevent a failure of justice.'"
The prosecutor's office claims the defense attorneys cannot, "based on the evidence before the court on the cusp of a trial repeatedly delayed by defense counsel."
Smith, the spokesperson for the defense team that includes Ephrata attorney Monty Hormel, said their interest in interviewing the mental health care providers was not tardy as the prosecution suggests.
"No I don't think it's belated and no it's not a last minute move," Smith said. "(Prosecutors) actually had notice that we wanted interviews for several weeks."
Smith did not entirely rule out whether the request reveals a defense strategy.
"I can't say that it is, I can't say that it is not," Smith said.
When Grant County settled a class-action lawsuit last fall, alleging the public defense system was inadequate, Smith was one of two attorneys the American Civil Liberties Union and other plaintiffs singled out to be banned from public defense work in the county. Smith kept the clients he already had, including Savoie.