ACLU sued by former public defender

Grant County attorneys named as being blacklisted

EPHRATA - A former Grant County Superior Court public defender is suing the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington, claiming the organization publicly targeted him late last year as a poor performer.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in superior court by Moses Lake attorney Randy Smith, through his attorney Steven Lacy of East Wenatchee, alleging "defamation," "invasion of privacy" and "disclosure of private facts," according to court documents. Smith is seeking financial compensation to include lost pay, and lost earning capacity.

Smith's lawsuit comes 10 months after the ACLU and Columbia Legal Services won a highly publicized $500,000 settlement agreement in a class-action lawsuit the two nonprofit organizations brought against Grant County, alleging an inadequate public defense system.

As a result, the county was obligated to increase public defender pay, limit their case-loads to 150 per year and provide separate funds for defense investigators and expert witnesses. The county also hired a court monitor - paid $300 per hour - to ensure compliance with terms of the settlement agreement.

Attorneys for the two organizations may receive additional payments of $100,000 annually, during the initial six years the settlement agreement is in effect, if the county does not comply.

As part of the settlement agreement, the ACLU insisted the county deny Smith and Moses Lake attorney Ted Mahr, a one-time Grant County public defender, future contracts. The county agreed, but the two names were to be kept secret in a sealed court document.

But the ACLU revealed the two names, attaching the sealed document to copies of the settlement agreement the organization e-mailed to media outlets.

"I feel that I've been wronged," Smith said Monday, who now spends about 95 percent of his time working for a private investigator in Moses Lake.

Smith directed questions about the lawsuit to his attorney. Lacy did not comment.

Earlier, Smith said he was singled out for being too "cocky" and outspoken in his criticism of the ACLU's lawsuit against the county.

ACLU spokesman Doug Honig of Seattle said Monday they had not seen Smith's lawsuit and declined to comment on it.

Honig said the ACLU's lawsuit against Grant County was initiated because people too poor to hire their own attorney deserve to have a public defense system that meets constitutional standards.

"We're gratified that the monitor reports, since the settlement has gone into effect, have shown that the county's defense system has improved," Honig said.

Honig would not comment on the public release of the two attorneys' names.

Grant County Commissioner LeRoy Allison said he was "shocked" by the disclosure, which occurred during contract negotiations between the county and potential public defenders, including Smith.

Commission Chairman Richard Stevens said the ACLU broke the terms of the agreement, by releasing the names.

"They were the ones who put the names out there, we didn't," Stevens said. "I wish (Smith) the best."

Smith's lawsuit shouldn't have an impact on the settlement agreement between the county and the ACLU, Stevens said.

Grant County Prosecutor John Knodell said Smith was a "very capable" opponent in several cases tried in superior court. "I thought he has performed very, very well in all of them," Knodell said Monday.

Smith worked as co-counsel for 15-year-old Evan Savoie, a first-degree murder defendant from Ephrata accused of killing a playmate in February 2003. Savoie was convicted, following a month-long trial in April. The teenager received more than 26 years in prison.

"I have the highest regard for Randy. I'm not sure how the ACLU came to a different conclusion," said Knodell, who prosecuted the Savoie case.

Smith received a law degree from Drake University in December 1999, his lawsuit states, and had five years of criminal trial experience. He handled "a significant portion" of jury trials in five felony cases, the documents stated.

Mahr, the other defense attorney publicly blackballed by the ACLU, said he initially considered filing a lawsuit against the organization, but found himself too busy to pursue it. He questions the ACLU's claim his name was released inadvertently.

"There was no due process, none," Mahr said of the ACLU's action against him. "We didn't have any chance to refute anything, and I don't even know what they were alleging, for that matter."

Mahr said he always worked hard for his clients.

"I've gone on to other things, I really don't care anymore, frankly," he said.