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Committee moves $400,000 outside counsel amendment for Pickard murder case to GLS
Summary
The committee was asked to move an amendment that would increase a county contract for outside counsel in the Pickard murder case to a $400,000 cap and grant the executive authority to sign future amendments.
Snohomish County staff told the Community Safety and Justice Committee on May 13 that the executive seeks authority to amend an outside-counsel contract for the Pickard murder case and increase the contract cap to $400,000. Nicole Gourley, council staff, described the original January contract and the proposed amendment and asked the committee to move the motion to the Governmental Lands and Services docket for consideration the next day.
Gourley said the executive originally executed a contract with Tamara Gaffney of Gaffney Lacey P, LLC in January for $50,000 to serve as co-counsel for the defendant in the Pickard murder case. Motion 25-215 would approve Amendment No. 1, adding $350,000 to the contract to bring the new not-to-exceed amount to $400,000, remove Schedule C from the contract, and give the executive authority to execute the contract and future amendments.
A committee member noted that similar indigent defense outside counsel contracts are often set at $350,000 per year, and staff indicated the contract may or may not reach the full amended amount. The committee voted to move the motion to GLS for consideration the following day and recommended it be placed on the consent agenda.
The committee did not take final action on the contract amendment; final approval would follow GLS consideration and any subsequent council action.
