Public Periscope
Metaphors are for mixing
Public defender Jim Kane poured his heart into his closing argument last week as he tried to convince a Spokane County Superior Court jury to acquit murder suspect Brad Jackson. He also poured about as many analogies and images as he could into the closing, creating a mixture not typical for murder cases … Among Kane’s references: Viagra, the Rose Bowl, the Oklahoma City bombing, crucifixion, a furnace, merry-go-rounds, rattlesnake and comet (the celestial kind, not the kitchen cleaner) … But the absolute pinnacle of rhetorical skills may have come when he looked at the wall sculpture of George Washington in Judge James Murphy’s courtroom, and said it looked like the movie character Freddie Krueger to him.
Out of the frying pan
Speaking of Judge Murphy, he either rates a special award for taking the tough cases, or he needs to find a way to draw longer straws. The day after the jury came back in the Jackson murder case, his docket was relatively empty so he got custody of a case that has the potential to be really long and drawn out: a River Park Square parking garage case … Murphy got the case Friday morning after Judge Sam Cozza was recused because of familiarity with one of the attorneys for the mall’s developers. As the new judge in a case where files are measured by the inch, Murphy told the lawyers to come back in the afternoon so he’d have a chance to read the file … The question he has to decide is whether to allow a group of citizens to join the lawsuit the city filed against the garage’s consultants, the developer and the agencies that own or operate it. Expect a decision later this week.
Just a reminder
A friendly note to candidates and their supporters from the folks at the Washington State Department of Transportation. Keep your signs out of the right of way of state highways. Why? It’s against the law to stick them there … If you live along a state highway, it’s OK to put a campaign sign in your yard. You don’t need a permit, but there are some rules … Nothing bigger than 32 square feet - so those 4-by-8 plywood sheets are street legal, but anything beyond that is excessive. The signs have to come down 10 days after the election - you don’t want the signs lasting longer than your candidate’s promises.
It’s debatable
If you enjoyed the presidential and vice presidential debates so much that you just can’t get enough, or if you thought they would have been better if the candidates had talked about issues closer to home, you’re in luck. There are plenty of debates for local candidates in the coming weeks. Here are a few:
Thursday, 6 p.m., the Spokane Regional Chamber of Commerce has the candidates for the two Spokane County Commissioners seats at the Regional Business Center, 801 W. Riverside. It’s free.
Friday, 7:30 a.m., the chamber has the mayoral candidates and the council president candidates debating at the WestCoast Grand Hotel at the Park. Tickets for breakfast are $20, reservations required, call 459-4105.
Watch this space each week for more debate listings.
Speaking of debates
One other debate doesn’t feature candidates, but it does offer a forum for something the candidates for Congress are talking about. The Gonzaga Environmental Law Caucus is sponsoring a debate on dam breaching at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the Barbieri Moot Court Room of the Law School, 721 N. Cincinnati … It may be better than a candidates debate on this topic, because it will feature people that actually know something about the issue of removing federal dams as a way to restore declining salmon runs. Participants include representatives of the Political Economy Research Center, the Washington Wheat Commission, Inland Power and Light, the Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition and Idaho Rivers United.