Attorneys Ahead In County Work Dispute Legal Bills Top $85,000 In Fight Among Judges, Prosecutor And Union

Taxpayers were the losers in a labor dispute that pitted Spokane County District Court judges and the county prosector against commissioners and union employees.

The bills from attorneys who represented various sides of the dispute have topped $85,000. At times, attorneys hired by taxpayers were arguing both sides.

The county was billed $68,500 by Frank Conklin, the attorney who helped the judges battle commissioners and District Court employees.

The bills from Conklin continue to mount because the Public Employment Relations Commission and unions representing courthouse employees have appealed decisions that went against them.

The county also was billed nearly $17,000 by Lukins & Annis, the law firm that defended commissioners against the judges and against Prosecutor Jim Sweetser.

There was no bill for the attorney who represented Sweetser. That’s because Martin Muench is a $49,000-a-year deputy prosecutor who was working on county time.

“I don’t have a clue,” Muench said when asked how much time he spent on the case. “I did it along with everything else I was doing.”

Presiding District Court Judge Daniel Maggs said that while the bills are regrettable, “I just simply don’t know what other course of action we could have taken.”

He blamed union leaders for “attempting to circumvent the law.”

Not surprisingly, the Washington State Council of City and County Employees, which paid its own legal bills, has a different take on the dispute. Union representative Bill Keenan accused the judges and prosecutors of union-busting, and said his organization was forced to defend its members.

The dispute arose when commissioners agreed to negotiate a single contract for all county employees.

Sweetser and the judges filed suit against commissioners, saying that as elected officials, they alone can set working conditions for their employees. They eventually won.

Sweetser also argued in court that his deputy prosecutors are political appointees who serve at his whim and don’t have collective bargaining rights. He won that case, as well.

The District Court judges sued the Public Employment Relations Commission, which was investigating complaints that court employees brought against their bosses.

A Lincoln County judge agreed with Conklin that PERC has no authority over judges. The constitutional separation of powers prevents it, Judge Philip Borst ruled.

Keenan said it should come as no surprise that Borst ruled in favor of the judges, since the case ultimately could affect labor negotiations in his own county.

The outcome “doesn’t prove anything,” said Keenan.

The union and PERC hope for more favorable rulings from the state Supreme Court.

One of the costly twists in the legal battle came when then-Commissioner Steve Hasson violated a court order by signing a contract with the union.

Maggs threatened to ask Adams County Superior Court Judge Richard Miller to hold Hasson in contempt of court. Maggs eventually dropped the threat, but only after Conklin spent more than 10 hours researching the matter, billing the county at his standard rate of $110 an hour.

Conklin was worth the money he earned, Maggs said.

“We prevailed on every single point,” said Maggs. “He did an excellent job.”

Conklin could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Muench said the cases ultimately may save him ” a lot of time” because deputy prosecutors won’t be able to file as many grievances.

, DataTimes