This goes a lot deeper & further than you can even know. Your case is not just about dogs. There are civil, procedural & constitutional rights violations in spades here. Here is what you want to do first
1) File an Affidavit of prejudice against the judge in your case, he has already been reprimanded by the state's Judicial Commission for violating defendants rights & due process. Also since as you pointed out he is the one who issued the warrant he has already "convicted" you in essence, he has not made a ruling in your case so you still have the right to have him removed. (I've included his reprimand)
2) File a complaint with the Judicial Commission against Commissioner Waggoner, since she let you present your case, in front of the prosecutor & said she wouldn't rule on your case because you didn't file a motion which you clearly did, she compromised your criminal case & seems to be incompetent in matters regarding the law, due process, & she should've informed you of your 5th Amendment rights not to incriminate yourself in the criminal matter. The fact that she didn't cite the procedural error she believed why she shouldn't rule on your case until AFTER you presented your case speaks volumes about her intentions. You need to get the court minutes ASAP because the prosecutor can not over ride the Washington state constitution nor can any municipality rule over Washington state RCW's (I've included the complaint form)
3) File a motion requesting your current attorney be removed from your case & ask for an attorney with expertise in the areas of Animal & Civil rights. Since this case is unique & requires expertise in specific laws & procedure. Make sure you ask the SAME questions of any attorney they appoint for you. What is your level of expertise in this area of law? How long have you been practicing? How many cases have you won, ie: What is your win/loss ratio? Do you have liability insurance & what is your insurance limit? If a lawyer gets defensive, over these questions like the last one did, then you need to just go pro se, you stand a better chance of having a fool for a client than an idiot for a lawyer. (I've included the motion for a new attorney as well as instructions forms)
4) File a motion to have them throw out the pictures since they did not photograph all 4 sides of the car & clearly not the area where you had the dogs food supplies. Even if they don't allow for that remember to point out this fact to the jury, as any logical minded person will still wonder why they were so thorough in photographing the other 3 sides but not the 1. Since the photo's clearly show your water bottle on the car & food dishes almost full inside, the pictures really can't hurt you.
5) File a motion to get Officer Trask's statement thrown out as it contains, hearsay, get an affidavit from your vet that says they did not make those statements attributed to them & that they are prepared to come to court to say so. Even if they don't throw out her statements then they still work in your favor, they are full of lies & her reference over the course of all 3 statements of you being a "thin Native American Woman" is enough to make any person wonder what her true motivation is. It also makes your case for you. As for the vet records, keep those, even if they "lose" them you still have them. You will need them also for your civil torts claim & civil case, as they represent so many things, 1 they establish that the dogs were not malnourished, not dehydrated, & appeared to be healthy. Since you have Soffie's vet records you have proof you have tried to get vet care for her. As for their claim the dogs were treated for Giardia & 1 for tapeworms 2 months after they were brought in, that is also refutable as to when they got them & since there is no treatment date, it can be assumed they got it from the shelter, since no mention of fleas was ever made in the initial vet exams, & you have your treatment record.
6) File a motion for the return of your dogs in the municipal court while simultaneously filing a Motion for Reconsideration & Affidavit of prejudice against commissioner Waggoner, Affidavit first, Motion 2nd in Superior court.
7) Remember no matter what you do, do NOT waive your rights to a speedy trial.
8) Compile your witness list by this weekend. Make sure to include the landlord, the neighbor & the lady you were staying with as hostile witnesses. Also call the staff from the Everett Shelter that you have dealt with when you were pulling dogs, & anyone who examined your dogs. Include the Animal Control Agents from King & Kitsap counties as well. also get sworn Affidavits from all the shelter workers & Managers you have dealt with, all of the rescues you have dealt with, & most importantly try to get a statement from ALL of the people who have adopted from you, & people who have signed over animals to you. Get sworn Affidavits from your vet techs, all of your volunteers & your donors as well. Get as many of them to come in as you can & remember the prosecutor will try to say that those witnesses are not pertinent to this case but don't fall for it, they have attacked your character & your credibility, saying that you kept your dog alive for donations. Another thing you need to bring up is the fact that this crazy woman is saying they told her your dogs had Giardia & worms, but at the initial exams they showed no signs, but all of a sudden 2 months later they do? So either they are trying to cover their butts, for her or for themselves.
9) Jury selection, try to get as many Native Americans on your jury panel as possible, since it seems to be such a big deal, you have a right to be heard by a jury of your "Peers" , make sure to ask them what they feel would be a credible reason for getting rid of a pet, how they feel about euthanasia, & see if they have ever been homeless, they don't have to be rocket scientists but make sure they have some level of education.
10) Remember that the city has the burden of proof, you have the right to defend yourself, make sure to take as much time as you need to present your case, the judge will try to hurry you along, but do NOT be rushed, you need to present every single little item of relevance in your case big or small so that if you lose you will have lots of points to bring up in appeals court, many cases have been lost because relevant info wasn't presented in court leaving the defendant with no basis for appeal, but REMEMBER if you lose you need to file an Emergency Injunction for the dogs & cat or they can immediately
euthanise all of them if they want to.
Notes:
You should not file the Tort Claims til after your court hearing but you also have only 6months to file it so file it anyway if this case is not resolved by then anyway. (I've included the tort form & filled out some of the relevant parts for you)
You need to contact your local FBI office about the Animal Control officer's statements, they have to investigate because it is a City Agency. Start this process IMMEDIATELY & once you get the PDR you can add additional info to the case file. There is also a link where you can file on the internet, make sure to print or copy the form after you have completed it. Make the complaint against the City of Everett & Everett Animal Control as the city is the controlling agency responsible for the oversight of all of it's agencies & officers thereof.
http://www.justice.gov/crt/complaint/ Criminal
Color of Law Abuses
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Preventing abuse of this authority, however, is equally necessary to the health of our nation’s democracy. That’s why it’s a federal crime for anyone acting under “color of law” willfully to deprive or conspire to deprive a person of a right protected by the Constitution or U.S. law. “Color of law” simply means that the person is using authority given to him or her by a local, state, or federal government agency.
The FBI is the lead federal agency for investigating color of law abuses, which include acts carried out by government officials operating both within and beyond the limits of their lawful authority. Off-duty conduct may be covered if the perpetrator asserted his or her official status in some way.
During 2009, the FBI investigated 385 color of law cases. Most of these crimes fall into five broad areas:
- Excessive force;
- Sexual assaults;
- False arrest and fabrication of evidence;
- Deprivation of property; and
- Failure to keep from harm.
Sexual assaults by officials acting under color of law can happen in jails, during traffic stops, or in other settings where officials might use their position of authority to coerce an individual into sexual compliance. The compliance is generally gained because of a threat of an official action against the person if he or she doesn’t comply.
False arrest and fabrication of evidence: The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right against unreasonable searches or seizures. A law enforcement official using authority provided under the color of law is allowed to stop individuals and, under certain circumstances, to search them and retain their property. It is in the abuse of that discretionary power—such as an unlawful detention or illegal confiscation of property—that a violation of a person's civil rights may occur.
Fabricating evidence against or falsely arresting an individual also violates the color of law statute, taking away the person’s rights of due process and unreasonable seizure. In the case of deprivation of property, the color of law statute would be violated by unlawfully obtaining or maintaining a person’s property, which oversteps or misapplies the official’s authority.
The Fourteenth Amendment secures the right to due process; the Eighth Amendment prohibits the use of cruel and unusual punishment. During an arrest or detention, these rights can be violated by the use of force amounting to punishment (summary judgment). The person accused of a crime must be allowed the opportunity to have a trial and should not be subjected to punishment without having been afforded the opportunity of the legal process.
Failure to keep from harm: The public counts on its law enforcement officials to protect local communities. If it’s shown that an official willfully failed to keep an individual from harm, that official could be in violation of the color of law statute.
Filing a Complaint
To file a color of law complaint, contact your local FBI office by telephone, in writing, or in person. The following information should be provided:
- All identifying information for the victim(s);
- As much identifying information as possible for the subject(s), including position, rank, and agency employed;
- Date and time of incident;
- Location of incident;
- Names, addresses, and telephone numbers of any witness(es);
- A complete chronology of events; and
- Any report numbers and charges with respect to the incident.
You may also contact the United States Attorney's Office in your district or send a written complaint to:
Assistant Attorney General
Civil Rights Division
Criminal Section
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NorthwestWashington, DC 20530
Civil Rights Division
Criminal Section
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NorthwestWashington, DC 20530
FBI investigations vary in length. Once our investigation is complete, we forward the findings to the U.S. Attorney’s Office within the local jurisdiction and to the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., which decide whether or not to proceed toward prosecution and handle any prosecutions that follow.
Civil Applications
Title 42, U.S.C., Section 14141 makes it unlawful for state or local law enforcement agencies to allow officers to engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives persons of rights protected by the Constitution or U.S. laws. This law, commonly referred to as the Police Misconduct Statute, gives the Department of Justice authority to seek civil remedies in cases where law enforcement agencies have policies or practices that foster a pattern of misconduct by employees. This action is directed against an agency, not against individual officers. The types of issues which may initiate a pattern and practice investigation include:
- Lack of supervision/monitoring of officers' actions;
- Lack of justification or reporting by officers on incidents involving the use of force;
- Lack of, or improper training of, officers; and
- Citizen complaint processes that treat complainants as adversaries.
Under Title 42, U.S.C., Section 1997, the Department of Justice has the ability to initiate civil actions against mental hospitals, retardation facilities, jails, prisons, nursing homes, and juvenile detention facilities when there are allegations of systemic derivations of the constitutional rights of institutionalized persons.
Report Civil Rights Violations
- File a Report with Your Local FBI Office
- File a Report over Our Internet Tip Line
- Visit Our Victim Assistance Site
Resources
You need to get a PDR (public records disclosure) from the Everett Animal Shelter, the info you are looking for is Euthansia stats, seizure records, for all of the officers, employment info, (see if they have any minorities working there or if they ever have had any) check to see what the minority status is on cases they file or complaints they make ie: How many cases against minorities v. non minorities do they file. Pay special attention to Officer Trask's history V. the other Officers records, I would even try to contact some of the defendants to get a look at them to see if they are also thin or any other ethnicity than white. I would suggest that if you find enough of them... You start a Class Action lawsuit as well. Make it very clear that your wanting to see this woman fired & you want some minorities hired, period. If they don't give you the PDR or if they fight it, trust me it looks much better on your case. If you don't know what you're looking for or what else to ask for please let me know & I will fill out a form for you.
Also remember in your lawsuit for the loss of George, use Roemer V. Gray inre: Yofi, as a guideline for intrinsic value, emotional distress, vet bills, costs, & cost of care.
I still think you should file a motion for dismissal of the entire case & immediate return of the dogs & cat. I am actually surprised you didn't get a call from the prosecutors office to have a mediation hearing, they have to know they have a shoddy case at best, but maybe they are just hoping that YOU are bluffing & not going to proceed with a jury trial, & that in fact they might think they have the Judge so deep in their pockets that no matter what you do he will rule against you, which is very common in the smaller jurisdictions. Remember you have less than 30 days to appeal any decision they make & you want file a motion for a stay for your animals the DAY you lose to make sure they will remain safe. I will send you all the points to make in another email for your jury trial, & include case law to back it up, remember to copy & paste the actual statement inre the case you are quoting so the Judge doesn't have to look it up & so that the Jury can read it in deliberations.
Talk to you later!
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