King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office

There's an insightful new story from Axios Seattle about the nexus between chronic lack of school attendance among King County students and gun-related crimes, and what we're doing about it: "Among young people in the Seattle area who've been charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, 85% had interrupted school attendance, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. Hundreds of thousands of students nationwide disappeared from public schools during the pandemic and never returned, including about 11,000 in Washington. What they're doing: In January, [Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jamie] Kvistad helped launch the juvenile division's "safer schools strategy," which is aimed at getting schools the information they need to guide students. State statute already requires that schools be notified when there's a conviction, but now prosecutors send nearly real-time alerts to districts and security teams telling them when a student has been charged with a gun-related felony, Kvistad told Axios. The program facilitates face-to-face conversations among the schools, probation officers, prosecutors, and the students and their families to get kids back on track, she said. So far, about 100 alerts have been sent out"

When King County Drug Court was started in 1994 – it was a risk. There were no guarantees that yesterday, the 30th anniversary, would come to pass. But yesterday, we commemorated 30 years of transformational journeys to recovery. 30 years of life changing choices. And 30 years of trying a new way to make our community safer – by connecting people who are struggling with addiction to behavioral health interventions that can help them turn their lives around. With nearly 3,000 successful graduates – each one represented by gold stars that adorned the courtroom – and 30 years of data and analysis, we can say confidently that the risk that King County Prosecuting Attorney Norm Maleng and King County Superior Court Judge Ricardo Martinez took helps improve public safety and prevent future crime. Every month, our office — along with judges, family members friends, and case managers — celebrates a new group of graduates, many of whom say Drug Court saved their life. And they mean that literally. People come to drug court homeless, addicted to substances, and facing time in jail or prison. They come to drug court because their behavior is negatively impacting themselves and other people. Drug Court’s story is the story of redemption and life changing choices. It’s also the story of hard work: under the court’s supervision participants complete a minimum 10-month program of treatment sessions, random urinalysis drug testing, and appear before the Drug Court judge on a regular basis. At the end of that journey, many participants are transformed: able to not only achieve stable housing and employment, but in some cases also reunite and reconnect with their children. These positive impacts on individual graduates pay dividends in terms of how graduates go on to positively impact our community. Simply put: by helping participants stop using drugs or alcohol, Drug Court helps put graduates in a position where they stop committing crimes associated with their addiction. Studies have shown that nine out of 10 Drug Court participants have no new felonies after 3 years, and seven out of 10 have no new crimes at any level, including misdemeanors. And the Washington State Institute for Public Policy doesn’t just classify drug courts as an evidence-based intervention for reducing crime – they also conclude that drug courts produce a return on investment 100% of the time. So congratulations to the staff and graduates of Drug Court—including all the many members of our team who have worked with and supported the program over the years. We are so proud to be a partner in what we know to be a transformational opportunity for generations of King County residents past, present, and future. Here’s to the next 30 years!

This week, as we celebrate 30 years of the Violence Against Women Act, our Domestic Violence Initiative Regional Task Force (and shout out to our co-chair Coalition Ending Gender-Based Violence!) had a GREAT meeting this morning in Kent of 80+ prosecutors, law enforcement, treatment providers, elected officials and advocates all joining together to improve the ways we support survivors and advance community safety. A huge thanks to Amy Bullard from our team for organizing this event, to City of Kent Mayor Dana Ralph and Kent City Council for providing the space, and to Sound Cities Association for hosting us. As we commemorate the 30th anniversary of VAWA, it’s worth noting that this local work – which joins together community and system partners to support survivors – is funded by our VAWA STOP grant. Here’s to 30 more years of VAWA resources helping bring our community together to stand up for survivors of domestic and gender-based violence.

We're hiring Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys (term-limited) in our Mainstream Criminal Division! These are great opportunities for newly licensed (or soon-to-be licensed) attorneys to join our District Court Unit in Kent. Learn more and apply here to join us in our mission to Do Justice: https://lnkd.in/gqbXGrRD

Congratulations to our very own, Katie Ziglin—who was awarded the prestigious Gates Public Service Law Scholarship to attend the University of Washington School of Law! For the last 3 years, Katie has served as a paralegal in our Sentence Review Unit, part of a small but mighty team that reviews applications for sentence review or early release in select cases when it serves in the interest of justice. Katie has been an invaluable member of our team and we are SO excited that she is embarking on her law school journey. Today was Katie’s last day at the PAO before she begins law school, and we are wishing her the very best. Good luck, Katie!

Calling all undergrads! Are you an undergraduate student interested in exploring legal opportunities? Do you want to be part of a collaborative and mission-driven team where you can use your skills to make significant impacts in your community? If so, this opportunity is for you! We are recruiting for paid internship positions for the upcoming 2024 - 2025 school year. These positions are in our Mainstream Criminal Division; Gender-Based Violence & Prevention Division; Economic Crimes & Wage Theft Division; and IT department. More info:

"The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office recently concluded the first year of its Safer Schools Strategy, an initiative aimed at preventing school tragedies and ensuring safer environments for all King County children. Launched in January 2024 by King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion, the strategy addresses rising juvenile violent crime rates compared to 2019, despite overall juvenile crime referrals being at historic lows. Since the program’s inception, 70 notifications have been made to school districts regarding students with pending felony firearm charges. Prior to this strategy, schools often remained unaware of such charges until conviction. The Safer Schools Strategy now facilitates early communication, enabling schools to engage in proactive safety planning and threat assessment."

Unleash The Brilliance is a nonprofit working in King County public schools with students of chronic to acute absenteeism to provide them positive role models, ways of thinking about their futures, and incentives for academic success. Isah Ouldtaki got involved with Unleash the Brilliance in its first few years of existence. She is a 2013 Lindbergh High School graduate. At Lindbergh, Ouldtaki was facing court for truancy when she went to a workshop where Unleash the Brilliance founder Terrell Dorsey was speaking. Dorsey soon became Ouldtaki’s mentor through the program and pushed her to go to all the activities Unleash the Brilliance offered. “He didn’t take no for an answer. I had no excuses [to not go to activities], and I felt like that just changed my life,” Ouldtaki said. “He would always be very reassuring, and I feel like I never knew what that was when I was younger.” Ouldtaki, decades later, now lives in King County and works for Amazon.

When non-English speakers are in crisis and reach out for help, they often have a variety of urgent needs. However, it can be difficult to know which organizations offer culturally and linguistically appropriate support. We're hosting a free community event to invite all King County providers currently offering services to non-English speaking populations to meet and share your expertise with us. We want to hear about the services your program provides, as well as develop connections and increase opportunities for inter-agency collaboration. With the information obtained, a resource guide of multi-lingual service providers will be created and shared with all participants. Presenters from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office will also provide training on domestic violence, advocacy, protection orders, and the criminal justice process to assist your organization to support survivors more effectively. Register using the link below by August 9: https://lnkd.in/gjSVRcZf

One month ago, the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office helped launch the first-ever Pacific Northwest Chapter of the NATIONAL ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER PROSECUTORS ASSOCIATION (NAPIPA). It takes serious work to plan and host a successful event, and this small, but mighty team -- with help from some of our friends in the Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney's Office -- did a FANTASTIC job. I am grateful for the members of our team, national NAPIPA leadership, and community members who came to show their support; we were also so glad to welcome former Washington State Governor Gary Locke who helped kick off the evening. As the first Asian American to lead this office, I was moved and honored to be part of this historic event.