WA: charges vs. lawyer to be dismissed

Tri-Cities criminal defense lawyer Jim Egan was charged with obstructing a police officer for his actions inside the Kennewick, WA jail on August 4, 2005.

This week a judge accepted a prosecutor's promise to dismiss the charge with prejudice in six months, on the condition that Egan not commit any new related crime, with the judge, not the prosecutor, deciding if a new crime has been committed. The one condition placed upon Egan was that he apologize:

"I apologize to everyone to whom I was obnoxious on August 4, 2005, at the Kennewick police station. I do not apologize for attempting to let my client know that he had help in the lobby. I was hired by my client's parents to represent their 18-year-old who was being questioned about a double homicide of which he was innocent. I knew that if he ended up being charged he could face the death penalty, so I felt I had to be a zealous as possible to let him know that he was not alone. However, as a lawyer I pride myself on professional behavior and it is never professional to be obnoxious, no matter what the situation."

Eagan was represented by attorneys Todd Harms, Jeff Robinson and Sheryl Gordon McCloud.