Book of Blog

Bringing Leadership and Accountability Back to the Prosecutor’s Office

Spokane, Washington – Spokane Republican Dave Stevens announces his candidacy for Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney. As Deputy Prosecutor, Dave Stevens has prosecuted over one hundred criminal jury trials making him one of Spokane’s most seasoned trial attorneys.

Dave is running for Spokane County Prosecutor to ensure our communities are kept safe and to hold all criminals accountable for their actions. Dave’s record as Deputy Prosecutor demonstrates his passion for justice and his unwavering integrity. As Prosecutor, Dave will carry a caseload and not just be a full time administrator. Under his leadership, the Office of Prosecuting Attorney will once again be representative of open and honest government. According to Dave Stevens, “the significant amount of support and enthusiasm surrounding the campaign this early on is really exciting, and we’re just getting off the ground.”

Dave has received the endorsement of the Spokane County Republican Party and has already seen an early wave of support from individual law enforcement officers and deputy prosecutors.

Dave began his career as an Assistant City Prosecutor and then cross-deputized as a Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor in 2001. He began his work in the Domestic Violence Unit and currently works in the Property Unit. He specializes in prosecuting career criminals. As a prosecuting attorney, Dave has completed more than one hundred criminal jury trials, argued hundreds of motion hearings, and prosecuted thousands of cases. Dave has prosecuted a range of cases, including DUIs, domestic assaults, meth labs, and drive-by shootings. In the past, Dave has regularly argued cases before the Washington State Court of Appeals.

For more information on Dave Stevens and to keep up to date with the campaign, please visit his website at www.electdavestevens.com and follow the campaign on Facebook and Twitter.

[from Justice Sanders newsletter: http://www.friendsofjustice.com/ ]

Today let’s take a closer look at two recent lone dissents by Justice Sanders. He believes the court is there to protect people’s legal rights and will stand for them, even if he stands alone. He sees a dissent as an epitaph on a tombstone for a legal right violated. Although dissents have no immediate effect on the rights of the parties, hopefully they will stimulate further thought and perhaps reconsideration in future decisions. After all, Plessey v. Ferguson (separate but equal), was ultimately replaced by Brown v. Board of Education (separate is not equal) — but it took a while.

Justice Sanders was most gratified when he visited Seattle’s new city attorney-elect in December to see that Peter Holmes had a quotation on his computer from Justice Sanders’ lone dissent in Seeley v. State, 132 Wn.2d 776 (1997). That decision denied a dying man his right to use medical marijuana in his final illness. Perhaps this was to remind Mr. Holmes of the potential consequences of misused government power. Justice Sanders believes the people of Seattle have a very fine public servant in Peter Holmes. That dissent was also reprinted almost verbatim in the Seattle PI as well, and may have laid some of the groundwork for the medial marijuana initiative later passed by the people. Ironically the most recent lone dissent deals with the same subject. But some things need to be said repeatedly before people are able to hear the truth.

State v. Fry, 2010 WL 185857 (2010)

Stevens County sheriff deputies went to the Fry residence to check out a marijuana growing operation. Tina Fry met the officers at the door and told the officers her husband Jason had a legal prescription for medical marijuana. Nevertheless the officers obtained a search warrant based on the smell of marijuana despite the statute’s injunction that medical marijuana users “shall not be penalized in any manner, or denied any right or privilege,for such actions.”

Fry moved to suppress the evidence obtained arguing that there was no probable cause to issue the warrant since he presented evidence of the legal prescription to the police indicating he had a right to smoke before they sought the warrant. Justice Jim Johnson upheld the search in his majority opinion; Justice Tom Chambers concurred in result while Justice Sanders wrote a lone dissent.

After the opinion was published, the Seattle Times quoted a representative of CannaCare as saying it is “a disaster for us…It basically says that no matter what, they can arrest you at will, prosecute you at will, put you through the system, and cost you thousands in legal fees, even though they know you’re a legal patient. That’s just wrong. We are guilty until we can prove ourselves innocent.” The Olympian also provided a very good explanation of the opinion and dissent. And, Bruce Ramsey of the Seattle Times posted an article siding with Sanders.

State v. Pugh 2009 WL 5155364 (Dec. 31, 2009)

Bridgette Pugh called 911 to say her husband beat her up and was now walking away from her apartment. The police arrested him for assault; however when he was tried the wife didn’t show up to testify. Over Mr. Pugh’s objections the court allowed the prosecution to play the 911 tape without live testimony to support conviction, and he was convicted based on the tape, which, of course, he could not cross examine. Although the 6th Amendment to the US Constitution provides the right of the accused “to be confronted with the witnesses against him”, Justice Madsen writing for the majority held the right to confront the witness against you was not violated because the tape was not “testimonial.” Justice Sanders countered in the dissent that it was a narrative of past events so of course it was testimonial and therefore a 6th Amendment violation.

But the state constitution provides even more rights than the federal Bill of Rights. One reason Justice Sanders writes so many dissents is that he follows the express language of our state constitution. In this case, the language is very clear: “In criminal prosecutions the accused shall have the right…to meet the witnesses against him face to face…”

In his dissent, Sanders wrote “What is there about ‘face to face’ that the majority doesn’t understand? ‘The beginning of wisdom is calling things by their right names.’” [Ancient Chinese Proverb]

In the opinion Justice Sanders explains that the people ratified our state constitution by popular vote in 1889 and we must apply it by its plain language as it would have been understood. Apparently this view is now radical thought, and “thinking outside the box” to say the Constitution means what it says, and says what it means. Unfortunately, only Justice Sanders brings this view to the court. But at least someone reads the text and will apply it as written.

It’s one of the most horrific crimes imaginable, and it’s growing worldwide. An estimated 300 to 500 children are for sale in Seattle and other Washington cities.

Thanks to the explosion of child pornography, the demand for sex with minors and sexual materials featuring children is skyrocketing. The demand far outweighs the supply.

As a result, children and young teens are being kidnapped and forced to perform for money under threat of death.

As unbelievable as this may sound, this is happening in virtually every country and every state in the union, including at least five cities in Washington.

Buyers will pay hundreds–sometimes thousands–of dollars for a young child or teen. The market is unimaginably lucrative. To criminals, children and teens are expensive products that can be sold repeatedly, yet cost little or nothing to acquire and maintain. That’s the formula for modern day sex slavery.

ANOTHER KIND OF SEX PREDATOR

The youngest children are simply being kidnapped and moved from one part of the country to another. The older ones, generally age 12 to 17, are befriended by a good-looking young man or woman, who acts friendly and gives them expensive gifts.

After a reasonable period, the “friend” suggests a sleepover or weekend trip. The girl is then taken to secret location where the actual pimp takes possession of her. She is then drugged, raped and child sex trafficking.jpgbeaten regularly and forced into prostitution. She is threatened with death if she tries to escape. She is then moved from city to city and sold to an endless stream of strangers.

In an attempt to stem the tide of child sex trafficking in Washington, I have introduced a bill to help rescue these exploited children and severely punish those who take their innocence.

Senate Bill 6476 would dramatically increase penalties for recruiting, selling, transporting or purchasing underage children for sexual purposes.

SEVERE PENALTIES FOR SEX TRAFFICKING

The bill would raise the penalties for commercial sex abuse of a minor (“pimping”) to a Class A felony, carrying a 7- to 26-year prison sentence and a maximum $5,000 fine. Currently it’s a Class B felony, which carries a minimum sentence of just 1.75 years. The bill would elevate commercial sex abuse of a minor (buying) from a Class C felony with a $550 fine to a Class B felony, with a 1.75- to 12-year sentence and an additional $5,000 fine.

In the case of adult prostitution, law enforcement officers are trained to arrest and charge the prostitute, while only marginally addressing the seller and buyer. In the case of minors, or those who were kidnapped or coerced into prostitution as minors, police are dealing with victims.

As children and teens, they had no choice. These kids have been so abused they don’t know who to trust. They have no safe place to go. To treat them as criminals simply adds another bad dream to an already nightmarish existence.

CHILD VICTIMS NEED SAFETY

My bill would provide these exploited children with a safe haven, where they can be helped out of bondage and into a new life. It would also help focus law enforcement attention where it should be: on the recruiters, buyers and sellers.

The bill was heard by the Senate Human Services and Corrections Committee and will likely move on to the full Senate for a vote. I’ll keep you posted on what happens.

Sincerely,

It was chilly in Manhattan but warm inside the Starbucks shop on 51st Street and Broadway, just a skip up from Times Square. Early November weather in New York City holds only the slightest hint of the bitter chill of late December and January, but it’s enough to send the masses crowding indoors to vie for available space and warmth.

For a musician, it’s the most lucrative Starbucks location in the world, I’m told, and consequently, the tips can be substantial if you play your tunes right. Apparently, we were striking all the right chords that night, because our basket was almost overflowing.

It was a fun, low-pressure gig – I was playing keyboard and singing backup for my friend who also added rhythm with an arsenal of percussion instruments. We mostly did pop songs from the ’40s to the ’90s with a few original tunes thrown in. During our emotional rendition of the classic, “If You Don’t Know Me by Now,” I noticed a lady sitting in one of the lounge chairs across from me. She was swaying to the beat and singing along.

After the tune was over, she approached me. “I apologize for singing along on that song. Did it bother you?” she asked.

“No,” I replied. “We love it when the audience joins in. Would you like to sing up front on the next selection?”

To my delight, she accepted my invitation. “You choose,” I said. “What are you in the mood to sing?”

“Well, do you know any hymns?”

Hymns? This woman didn’t know who she was dealing with. I cut my teeth on hymns. Before I was even born, I was going to church. I gave our guest singer a knowing look, “Name one.”

“Oh, I don’t know. There are so many good ones. You pick one.”

“Okay,” I replied. “How about ‘His Eye is on the Sparrow’?”

My new friend was silent, her eyes averted. Then she fixed her eyes on mine again and said, “Yeah. Let’s do that one.”

She slowly nodded her head, put down her purse, straightened her jacket and faced the center of the shop. With my two-bar setup, she began to sing.

“Why should I be discouraged?
“Why should the shadows come?”

The audience of coffee drinkers was transfixed. Even the gurgling noises of the cappuccino machine ceased as the employees stopped what they were doing to listen. The song rose to its conclusion.

“I sing because I’m happy;
“I sing because I’m free.
“For His eye is on the sparrow
“And I know He watches me.”

When the last note was sung, the applause crescendoed to a deafening roar that would have rivaled a sold-out crowd at Carnegie Hall. Embarrassed, the woman tried to shout over the din, “Oh, y’all go back to your coffee! I didn’t come in here to do a concert! I just came in here to get somethin’ to drink, just like you!”

But the ovation continued and I embraced my new friend. “You, my dear, have made my whole year! That was beautiful!”

“Well, it’s funny that you picked that particular hymn,” she said.

“Why is that?”

“Well,” she hesitated again, “that was my daughter’s favorite song.”

“Really!” I exclaimed.

“Yes,” she said, grabbing my hands. By this time, the applause had subsided and it was business as usual. “She was 16. She died of a brain tumor last week.”

I said the first thing that found its way through my stunned silence: “Are you going to be okay?”

She smiled through tear-filled eyes and squeezed my hands. “I’m gonna be okay. I’ve just got to keep trusting the Lord and singing his songs, and everything’s gonna be just fine.” She picked up her bag, gave me her card, and then she was gone.

Was it just a coincidence that we happened to be singing in that particular coffee shop on that particular November night? Was it coincidence that this wonderful lady just happened to walk into that particular shop? Was it coincidence that of all the hymns to choose from, I just happened to pick the very hymn that was the favorite of her daughter, who had died just the week before? I refuse to believe it.

God has been arranging encounters in human history since the beginning of time, and it’s no stretch for me to imagine that he could reach into a coffee shop in midtown Manhattan and turn an ordinary gig into a revival. It was a great reminder that if we keep trusting him and singing his songs, everything’s gonna be okay.

The next time you feel like GOD can’t use YOU, just remember:
* Noah was a drunk
* Abraham was too old
* Isaac was a daydreamer
* Jacob was a liar
* Leah was ugly
* Joseph was abused
* Moses had a stuttering problem
* Gideon was afraid
* Sampson had long hair and was a womanizer
* Rahab was a prostitute
* Jeremiah and Timothy were too young
* David had an affair and was a murderer
* Elijah was suicidal
* Isaiah preached naked
* Jonah ran from God
* Naomi was a widow
* Job went bankrupt
* John the Baptist ate bugs
* Peter denied Christ
* The Disciples fell asleep while praying
* Martha worried about everything
* The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once
* Zaccheus was too small
* Paul was too religious
* Timothy had an ulcer…AND
* Lazarus was dead!

God can use you to your full potential. Besides you aren’t the message, you are just the messenger. God bless.

[A friend sent this to me via email this morning. Every week our newsletter mentions our need to trust God and that His eye is on the sparrow. So we thought this appropriate to reproduce it here (and we don't think it is copyright).]

Recently, I was in a disagreement with several youth leaders who were promoting the DVD “Jesus, Save Us From Your Followers.” The premise of the DVD was Christians owed the homosexual community an apology for centuries of bigotry and judgment. The creators of the “documentary” established confession booths at homosexual events – not for the homosexual to enter and confess their sin, but for the Christian promoters to confess their sin of bigotry and hate to the homosexual who would enter.

A quick definition of hate: standing up for the truth of God’s word is “hate.”

I argued with these pastors and leaders from the Scripture. They, in turned, argued back that I was narrow-minded and old-school and that I could never understand their ways. To them, it did not matter the multiple Scriptures condemning the practice and the participants; it did not matter to them Jesus’ example of praising the prophets for their hateful ways (modern definition) rather than condemning them as narrow-minded; nor did it matter to them these homosexuals were on the road to hell and their method would do nothing to turn them back. And, in the end, I refused to “agree to disagree.”

It is hard for the church – and especially youth pastors – to stand up for the truth because they are more interested in what the church looks like than what the message of the Gospel is. This is ironic, because these are the same people who are supposed to address the problem of peer pressure to our youth, yet they cannot handle the problem themselves.

Molotov Mitchell has a short video out that addresses this issue: What should be the Christian response to the homosexual? [scroll down to "My Gay Friends" - depending on when you read this, it might be a ways down the list.]

[movie deleted because of script conflict]

This is where the pavement hits the road as the young police officer fights for his life in a winner take all battle.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We wish for you, in 2010, the greatest prosperity and blessings.

A WORD ABOUT YOUR PROSPERITY:

Over two thousand years ago, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ to be born like one of us – to die for all of us. He paid the price for our sin. Our sin is in our nature and our nature is to reject God and His authority; and we cannot pay for that, not even with our own blood. But God, Himself, came to earth, became one of us. He willingly left His splendor in Heaven and suffered death at the hands of men – the hands of men He created, in order to bring us back to God. That is why Jesus said, He came to give us life more abundantly (John 10:10).

This is why birthday parties for Jesus really miss the point: Christmas is not a celebration of Jesus’ birthday. We are not celebrating another year older, nor are we celebrating the date of His birth. We are celebrating God’s greatest gift to man, the gift of Himself and His willing sacrifice – we are celebrating Christ’s triumph over sin and death, so we can live with Him forever; and He gives us freedom on earth, no matter our lot in life.

In the days of old, and Bible times included, it was common to celebrate with song, festivities and the giving of gifts whenever a people received a great victory, military or otherwise. So, too, in our giving of gifts to family and friends, we are celebrating the salvation and redemption God has given freely to man. This is why we give – not to fulfill some materialistic lust, though it appears we have devolved into this as a society. When we give our gifts, let us remember the reason for the giving – Jesus has conquered death, and that is our greatest victory.

The best way to celebrate Christmas is to receive the gift God has given to men (read John chapter one). This gift was God who became man, who died for our sin in our place. Everyone who repents of their sin and receives this gift will have everlasting life. This is true prosperity and the greatest prosperity, indeed.

ANOTHER WORD ABOUT GIFT GIVING:

Solomon and the queen of Sheba demonstrated the best template for gift exchanging: when visiting bring a gift from your wealth – gold, silver, costly spices, jewels and such. Your host, in turn displays his wealth and you choose what you will. It was noted in the account the queen of Sheba left with more than she brought. Visiting trumps hosting.

PLEASE ENJOY THIS VIDEO AND SONG: