The loss of an icon

Seattle, King County and the state of Washington have lost a revered icon. King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng, a most noble and gracious public servant, died last week.

Maleng's name is synonymous with first-class legal practice, fairness and genuine love of the law. One measure of Maleng's overall impact lies in how truly difficult it is to imagine our community without his brilliant intellect, his wise counsel and sturdy leadership.

Maleng was always the calm, deliberate voice, the stoic who held our collective hands as we coped with horrible things that happened in our community. The Wah Mee murders of 1983. The Green River killer cases. The Christmas Eve 1985 slayings of Seattle attorney Charles Goldmark and family.

Maleng was a force who helped write the state's Sentencing Reform Act, "tough and fair," to use his own words, the man who fought for stricter laws dealing with sex predators. Yet he was so broadminded in his thinking, that he, too, led the way in reducing sentencing for certain drug crimes while expanding treatment for addicts.

Why keep putting people away without giving them a chance to bring themselves up? That is quintessential Norm Maleng.

He was the nonpartisan Republican beloved by all members of all parties, prosecutors, defense attorneys, everyone.

Dozens of attorneys and prosecutors have their heads down today, feeling the void, mindful of the dignified way he conducted himself for decades as King County's top lawyer.

"His loss is stunning and devastating to me and, I am sure, to the thousands of attorneys and law-enforcement officials that he has mentored and encouraged during his long and distinguished career as prosecuting attorney," said state Attorney General Rob McKenna. McKenna served on the King County Council, often working closely with Maleng.

The people who streamed into Harborview Medical Center Thursday night, the people who struggled to find the right words to describe him, only begin to capture the impact this man had on our community.

Early in his life of public service, Maleng took over and reformed the civil division of the King County prosecuting attorney's office, recalled Chris Bayley, his predecessor as county prosecutor.

"He was the prosecutor for all the cases coming from the 1971 grand jury which investigated and ended the police pay-off system, the most highly publicized prosecution for decades before or since," Bayley said. "As King County prosecuting attorney for 28 years, he led in a spirit of justice that transcended politics or party."

Many newcomers to our region may best know Maleng as the man who struck a deal with Green River killer Gary Ridgway, in which he spared Ridgway's life in exchange for a guilty plea and closure for families of 48 female victims.

Over and over again, he weighed the horror of many crimes against fairness and the impact on the larger community. He explained his gut-wrenching decision on the Green River case, repeatedly, patiently, but with humility and a heavy heart. If someone was upset with his decision, he was prepared for the criticism.

Maleng was first elected King County prosecutor in 1978, then re-elected seven more times, often by enormous margins. Over time, the voters couldn't imagine a better legal mind in that position.

But the fair-minded, low-key Maleng never reached higher office to which he clearly was suited. He wanted to be governor and would have been a good one. He also ran for state attorney general and would have excelled at that, too.

Robert Lasnik, the chief U.S. district judge in Western Washington who was Maleng's chief of staff for many years, and who helped represent Maleng's office in the Wah Mee case, described him as "the heart and soul of justice in this community for more than 30 years."

He certainly was. He was the ultimate public servant.