I am petitioning the County Executive and County Council on the matter of the prosecution of Ten Young, the citizen who led the Mic Check event in County Council Chambers in February 2012.
I attended his most recent court appearance on December 13th. I was alarmed to learn that both Ten and his attorney were not aware of the court appearance until that morning. I spoke with the attorney afterwards, and he told me that the only reason he became aware of the court appearance is because he diligently monitors the County website for such information. But for the vigilance of legal counsel, this citizen could have failed to appear in court and was at imminent risk of being the subject of a bench warrant.
Furthermore, according to the attorney, there has been a peculiar and persistent difficulty in getting notice from the courts on other court appearances for this client. The attorney, who takes his duty of care to his clients understandibly seriously, was visibly upset about the difficulty he seems to be having getting the information from the courts that he needs to perform his job. The attorney also stressed that he has never had any such difficulty with the County with any other clients.
These chronic lapses of communication to Ten from the County court system are causing this case to take on a dreadful and sinister tone. As unpleasant and awkward as it is to mention this, the fact that Ten is of Native American descent serves to amplify this tone.
I am mindful of the fact that Members of Council were profoundly and directly affected by the Mic Check event in February. Nonetheless, is there anything you can do to insure that Ten Young and his attorney get timely information about his court appearances?
Shane Roth
Bellingham, Washington
There should be an investigation....misconduct in the prosecutor's office.
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