State v. Robert Caruso

Aug 31, 2016

OUTCOME: Not Guilty X 10

Washington v. Castagna

Jun 17, 2008

OUTCOME: Case Dismissed

Cody Castagna was falsely accused by sitting Washington State Representative Richard Curtis of La Center, Washington of extortion and theft. Without putting too fine a point on it, Cody was owed some m ... oney by Representative Curtis and, when he tried to collect the debt, was accused of threatening to "out" the lawmaker as a homosexual in exchange for the thousand dollars owed. Based on the accusations of Curtis, Cody and his co-defendants were strung along by the process for some eight months. After the Court ordered Former Representative Curtis to meet with me in person, and one week prior to the trial date, Curtis played the victim again claiming that his own accusations had hurt his family too much and he no longer wanted to participate. Without Curtis' accusation, the State had no evidence of wrongdoing and dismissed the case. Cody was happy but I was horrified by the lack of accountability for Curtis' false reporting. Cody's case goes to show how often you have to fight the power structure in order to achieve even the most obvious justice.

Idaho v. Dickerson

Jun 01, 2008

OUTCOME: Case Dismissed

Tomi Dickerson was driving west with her best friend and her best friend's three children as they moved their lives from the midwest to Western Washington. Tomi was doing the speed limit with the crui ... se control set, but lost control of a Chevrolet Suburban loaded down with a family's belongings. What happened next remains the saddest story of my career and left Tomi charged with three counts of manslaughter. Tomi was devastated, her best friend was devastated and a family struggles to this day to cope with the most tragic loss on earth. Based on the skid marks, yaw marks, concrete gouge, sheet metal crush and despite eyewitness testimony, the Idaho State Police determined that Tomi's vehicle was traveling seven (7) miles per hour over the posted limit. Seven. Eight months after the collision (you only have 6 months to sue the government for negligently constructing the roadway) the State of Idaho charged Tomi with manslaughter. Through a series of hard-hitting demands for production of evidence and an investigation that begain seriously looking into the State's liability for poor roadway design, the prosecution finally saw it our way and decided to leave this horribly injured family to grieve on their own terms. The case was dismissed.

Washington v. Kevin Herres

Apr 10, 2008

OUTCOME: Case Dismissed

Kevin was pulled out of a vehicle and searched by police officers who, even as they testified under oath, maintained that he had gotten out of the car on his own. This distinction proved crucial when ... the Judge viewed the closed circuit video footage and clearly saw that the police had removed Kevin from the vehicle. After the Judge dismissed the case for unlawful search and siezure, the lead officer berated me for questioning his credibility in open court. When asked how he figured he had not just committed perjury, he indicated that he no longer wished to discuss it with me and walked away. I don't drive through his jurisdiction anymore.

State v. Shonto K. Pete

Nov 18, 2007

OUTCOME: Not Guilty

Shonto was accused by an off-duty Spokane Police Officer of stealing his vehicle. The officer chased Shonto down and shot at him four times, hitting him once in the head. Despite a lack of DNA, fingerp ... rint and fiber evidence, Shonto was taken to trial and ultimately acquitted. We beleive that the off-duty officer accused Shonto in order to take the focus off of himself. I was the attorney for Shonto, but the lack of evidence is ultimately what set him free.