Cases
A federal judge ordered the State of Washington to stop unconstitutionally denying mentally ill jail inmates their right to timely evaluations and treatment to determine if they are competent to stand trial. The ACLU of Washington, Disability Rights Washington, the Public Defender Association and Chris Carney, who represented the plaintiffs in the class action Trueblood v. DSHS case, applauded the ruling.
A task force of attorneys and state officials is making progress on a collaborative effort to advance lasting reforms in the state’s criminal justice system. The Trueblood Task Force is urging the state to go upstream with reforms that focus on improving access to behavioral health services so that fewer people with mental illness wind up in jail.
The King County Sheriff’s Office has agreed to change its use-of-force policies as part of a settlement in a lawsuit over a plainclothes officer who held a motorcyclist at gunpoint. As a first step, the policy change clarifies that “aiming a weapon is a use of force and should be reported within the Sheriff’s office subject to further consideration and evaluation by persons higher up in the chain of command.”
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A federal jury awarded nearly $1 million to a woman with mental illness who gave birth alone in a King County Jail cell. The jury found the jail and several of its employees liable of medical malpractice and multiple civil rights violations.
A Seattle minister who was bruised and bloodied by police during a December 2011 protest is suing the city, alleging he was wrongly arrested and unduly prosecuted. Rev. John Michael Helmiere was trying to keep the peace during a Harbor Island protest over low pay rates and poor working conditions for short-haul truck drivers when Seattle police threw him to the ground and repeatedly punched him in the face.
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Seeking justice for woman assaulted by ex-police officer
A woman has filed a federal lawsuit alleging a former Seattle police officer used excessive force when he repeatedly slammed her head on the ground while arresting her without any probable cause during a concert. The officer was later fired in disgrace after he was convicted of cyberstalking an ex-girlfriend.
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Fighting for justice, winning results in personal injury cases
Carney Gillespie PLLP has secured substantial victories for people injured in motor vehicle collisions, accidents caused by corporations cutting corners and other traumatic events. Our victories include a six-figure insurance settlement for a man who was severely injured in a head-on collision.
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