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Clallam County weighs options after attorney general opinion forces prosecutor to resign coroner duties
Summary
An August attorney general opinion and a change in state statute mean Clallam County’s elected prosecutor can no longer serve as coroner; county counsel recommended appointing a district court judge temporarily, with charter amendment or litigation as alternatives. Commissioners expect to act before year‑end.
Clallam County officials on Dec. 16 laid out a fast‑moving plan to fill a coroner vacancy after a state law change and an attorney general opinion concluded the same person cannot serve as both prosecutor and coroner.
Outside counsel Duncan Folkes, of the Patterson Buchanan firm in Seattle, told commissioners the legislature amended statutes that take effect Jan. 1, 2025, and that an August attorney general opinion interprets the amendment to bar a prosecutor from concurrently serving as coroner. According to Folkes, Prosecutor Mark Nichols submitted a resignation as coroner effective Dec. 31, 2024, leaving the county without the official who signs death certificates and performs other…
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