A Note

• Jurisdiction: United States

The courthouse on Third Avenue and James Street in Seattle, Washington, was my home away from home, starting in 1969 and for the next twenty-seven years, while I worked in the King County Prosecutor's Office. What happened in the King County Courthouse is exceedingly important because the inhabitants there reckon with issues that are far from unique; the same issues are at play in courthouses across the nation.

No single roadway leads to a reformed and properly functioning criminal justice system. Each chapter in this book focuses on a different roadway—a different set of criminal justice issues. The issues are many, and some are complicated because, for the system to work properly, each of the multiple travelers—judges, lawmakers, police, prosecutors, defense counsel, court personnel, and jurors—have different roles and functions and must be doing the right things. In addition to these, the media and the community are fellow travelers.

The pages that follow tell the stories of how prosecutors in the King County Courthouse strove to do justice, end public corruption, and reform the criminal justice system. They succeeded in accomplishing monumental improvements in the criminal justice system, and what they did provides directions for others to follow.

The stories told here also are about the corrupt and vile criminals who have come to trial in that building. King County has had more than its fair share of public corruption and...