Former Grant County defender sues ACLU over release of name

EPHRATA — A former Grant County public defender has sued the American Civil Liberties Union, alleging the organization defamed him when it made his name public from a sealed court document.

The ACLU of Washington committed defamation, invasion of privacy and disclosed private facts when it released his name as one of two lawyers who would be denied future defender contracts, Moses Lake attorney Randy Smith contends in the lawsuit.

Smith's lawsuit stems from the settlement of litigation the ACLU and Columbia Legal Services brought against Grant County, alleging an inadequate public defense system.

The nonprofit organizations won a $500,000 settlement and concessions that resulted in changes in the way the public defender's office is funded and operates.

In the lawsuit filed Tuesday in Grant County Superior Court, Smith seeks unspecified financial compensation to include lost pay and lost earning capacity.

ACLU spokesman Doug Honig of Seattle said today he could not comment on the lawsuit because the organization has not yet seen the court papers.

As a result of the settlement, the county was obligated to increase public defender pay, limit caseloads and provide separate funds for defense investigators and expert witnesses. The county also hired a court monitor to ensure compliance with terms of the settlement agreement.

The county agreed to the ACLU's insistence that it deny future contracts to Smith and Moses Lake attorney Ted Mahr, a one-time Grant County public defender. Their names were to be kept secret in a sealed court document.

But the ACLU revealed the names when it attached the sealed document to copies of the settlement agreement it sent to media, Smith contends in his lawsuit.

"I feel that I've been wronged," said Smith, who now works for a private investigator in Moses Lake.

Honig said the ACLU sued Grant County "because we felt it was important that indigent people have a constitutionally adequate defense system."

"We're gratified that since the settlement was implemented, the monitor has reported conditions have improved in Grant County," he said by telephone from Seattle on Tuesday.

Grant County Prosecutor John Knodell called Smith a "very capable" opponent.

Smith was co-counsel for 15-year-old Evan Savoie, who was convicted in April of first-degree murder in the death of a playmate in February 2003. Savoie was sentenced to more than 26 years in prison.

"I have the highest regard for Randy. I'm not sure how the ACLU came to a different conclusion," Knodell said.

Mahr said he was too busy to pursue litigation against the ACLU, but questioned the organization's claim that his name was released inadvertently.

"There was no due process, none," Mahr said. "We didn't have any chance to refute anything, and I don't even know what they were alleging, for that matter."