$13,000 of tax money, but no end in sight as Franklin County court fight drags on

Relationships are fraying, legal bills are mounting and there's no end in sight as a contentious Franklin County courthouse dispute heats up.

It's already kept people from seeing their day in court.

The next hearing in the case of the seven judges of the Benton-Franklin Superior Court bench against Franklin County Clerk Michael Killian is Aug. 6, when a state Supreme Court panel meets to figure out if it will hear arguments in a related case.

The Supreme Court petition led to a temporary stay of the lawsuit and forced the cancellation of a July 13 administrative review hearing that might have resolved the unusual case between elected officials.

The judges sued Killian in March to make him follow their orders to maintain paper records after he converted to the state's new Odyssey electronic court records system.

Most Washington counties are converting to Odyssey this year.

The lawsuit was temporarily stayed when Franklin County Prosecutor Shawn Sant asked the state's highest court to review if the judges had the authority to appoint a special deputy prosecutor to represent them and for the county to pay them.

The Aug. 6 hearing will address if the court will consider Sant's request.

The underlying case ostensibly centers on who controls the records.

The request from Sant to the Supreme Court exposed the fault lines in the Franklin County courthouse, pitting the judges against Killian and now Franklin County Prosecutor Shawn Sant.

The petition centers on the role of W. Dale Kamerrer, an Olympia attorney who has previously performed work for Franklin County. When the dispute first arose earlier this year, Sant initially appointed him to represent the judges.

Sant wrote that he hoped outside attorneys would bring the conflict over records to a resolution. When no resolution was forthcoming, Kamerrer, representing the judges, sued Killian without first securing Sant's approval.

Later, the Franklin County Commission refused to pay Kamerrer's fees. Commissioners said they weren't obligated to fund a discretionary suit against the county.

About the same time, Killian agreed to give judges the paper documents he believed they wanted.

Sant thought the dispute was resolved and ended Kamerrer's "deputy prosecutor" status, according to court documents.

The judges weren't satisfied.

They argued that Killian's willingness to print out court papers fell short of complying with their local rules that compelled the elected clerk to obey.

So they pressed ahead with the case.

All seven signed an administrative order re-instating Kamerrer's special deputy prosecutor status — without notifying the prosecutor.

Sant claimed the judges were encroaching on his authority and turned to the Supreme Court for a review of the unusual appointment.

In a blistering response, the judges claimed Sant's case is frivolous and improper, adding that the prosecutor had a conflict of interest in the case.

They also said Killian mishandled the administrative order when he gave it a case number. It should have been placed in an administrative file, which isn't numbered.

Sant rebuffed the argument in his own lengthy response, noting that he represents Franklin County and no particular party.

Killian, he said, consulted with the prosecutor's office before recording the order and assigning a case number.

It had to be given a number in order to track the appeal, he said. The law, he noted, requires the clerk to assign numbers to documents in such cases.

In a stunning rebuttal of the judges' own attorney, Sant attached Kamerrer's most recent bill to the court as evidence.

Court documents show Kamerrer billed Franklin County more than $13,000 for his services through May 31, including $2,300 for 10.3 hours of work on the case after the county commission cut off funds.

Kamerrer earlier estimated that it would cost about $10,000 to take the case to a conclusion.

"I will be rejecting categorically all bills submitted for work performed by Mr. Kamerrer after May 22, 2018," Sant wrote.

Franklin County Administrator Keith Johnson confirmed to the Herald that the county won't pay that portion of the balance.

The judges, however, assert they control the cost.

In a declaration to the Supreme Court, Judge Bruce Spanner confirmed the judges have a "separate agreement" for Kamerrer to represent them in the lawsuit.

Judges can approve his bills, he wrote.

"While Mr. Kamerrer should be compensated by the county for his services, that compensation is subject to the approval of his charges by the Superior Court," he wrote.

The dispute has disrupted the business of the court — and denied people their day before a judge.

On June 22, Superior Court Judge Alex Ekstrom declined to take his seat on the bench for three routine Franklin County dockets as the bench temporarily recused itself from hearing cases presented by Sant.

They cited a possible ethics issue with hearing cases of a legal adversary.

Officials had to reschedule 29 unheard cases from two morning dockets.

A temporary judge stepped in for Ekstrom for the afternoon preliminary docket, which is typically when newly charged defendants have their first court hearing to decide if they should be released on bail.

The judges returned to work the following day, reportedly after the Judicial Conduct Commission advised them that it is not a conflict of interest to hear cases brought by the prosecutor, despite the conflict.

But even that move is clouded.

Reiko Callner, executive director, told the Herald she spoke by phone with two judges and shared her opinion on the matter. However, she said, it was only her opinion.

Callner said she advised the judges to consult the Ethics Advisory Committee, an entity created by the supreme court to advise judicial officers.

It was not clear Monday if they have done so.

This story was originally published July 2, 2018 at 6:31 PM.