Prosecutors, Defenders Swamped Three High-Profile Murder Trials Pile Up Work For County Lawyers

Spokane County public defender Richard Fasy wanted to spend most of last Monday morning researching the case of his client, accused serial killer Robert Lee Yates Jr.

But he was interrupted by another matter - the case of accused killer Stanley Leonard Pietrzak.

That’s the way it’s been lately for senior attorneys in the county offices of the public defender and prosecutor. There’s plenty of work to go around, with high-profile murder cases against Yates, Pietrzak and William “Brad” Jackson.

Pietrzak is scheduled to go to trial on Aug. 7, and Jackson on Sept. 5.

Yates’ trial isn’t scheduled until next spring, but attorneys are busy preparing arguments over whether he should face the death penalty.

“I think we’re feeling a bit of a squeeze,” said Don Westerman, the director of the public defender’s office. “And no one is feeling that more than Richard.”

Fasy is the lead attorney for Yates and serves as counsel for public defenders Al Rossi and Jim Kane, who represent Pietrzak and Jackson, respectively.

If Fasy has a peer on the other side of the legal fence, it would be deputy prosecutor Jack Driscoll, considered the No. 2 man in the prosecutor’s office.

Driscoll is the lead attorney in the state’s cases against Pietrzak and Jackson, and he assists prosecutor Steve Tucker in the Yates case.

“He’s swamped,” Tucker said of Driscoll. “Most of the work he’s done has been on Pietrzak and Jackson. In the Yates case, he’s mostly handled the search warrants. But as the Yates case moves on he’ll be doing even more.”

As for Fasy, he’s helping on the Pietrzak case. Pietrzak is accused of killing 24-year-old Kelly Conway, who disappeared in November 1998. Prosecutors say he burned her and stuffed her remains in a Dumpster.

Yates is charged with eight counts of aggravated first-degree murder, one count of attempted first-degree murder and a count of first-degree robbery in Spokane County, as well as two counts of murder in Pierce County.

Jackson is scheduled to go to trial over the death of his 9-year-old daughter, Valiree Jackson, though his attorneys submitted a plea deal to prosecutors last week.

During the week, a co-worker let Fasy know his schedule was taking its toll.

“It was suggested to me that I should just take the rest of the day off,” Fasy said.

“I guess I was becoming intense and forceful to those around me.”

Fasy said he gave the idea some thought but decided to stay at work because there was still too much work to be done.

In an attempt to give Fasy help in defending Yates, Westerman brought in Scott Mason from the juvenile justice department and Jay Ames from the felony department. County commissioners then allowed Westerman to bring in a temporary hire for the rest of the year to handle most of Ames’ workload.

“We could certainly use more staff,” Westerman said. “I’ll be asking (county commissioners) for additional dollars in next year’s budget.”

Westerman said the public defender caseload isn’t higher than normal, though it’s rare to have three high-profile cases at once. Forty-two attorneys are currently handling 2,907 cases ranging from misdemeanor to murder.

By comparison, the Spokane County prosecutor’s office has 68 attorneys, Tucker said. He wasn’t sure how many cases are currently being handled.

Westerman said he fears burning out his staff.

“If that happens, then you don’t provide the kind of quality to your clients that you should be,” he said.

Meanwhile, Driscoll said the key to juggling these cases is to budget time wisely.

“I know my limitations, but it also helps when you have other people on the case,” he said.

Backing Driscoll on the Pietrzak and Jackson cases is deputy prosecutor Larry Steinmetz. Tucker is leading the prosecution against Yates.

“I’ve been doing this a long time, so I have a pretty good idea how to pace myself,” Driscoll said.