CLE by the sea

If you were a member of the Washington Defender Association, you could have spent your Saturday morning by the Pacific Ocean soaking up free CLE's.

You might have preferred a conference room with a big picture window, so you could watch the seagulls outside hang gliding in the cold breeze, but then you might have missed the Power Point presentation, "New Washington Criminal Statutes - With a Spoonful of Sugar," featuring legislative updates accompanied by pictures of cute fuzzy animals.

Favorite slide: "Bestiality - Now Illegal. Still Legal - Putting a Helmet on Your Cat"

You could have learned about the Racial Disparity Project by The Defender Association of Seattle, and heard how two lawyers won for a wrongfully accused African-American client whose only reason for being stopped by the Seattle cops was his bandana, the color of which kept changing depending on which officer was testifying. You would've seen the actual bandana to judge for yourself.

You would have heard super - p.d. Bob Boruchowitz speak and inspire you to do great p.d. things.

Then you could've gone out on the beach to commune with those seagulls. But you might've needed to plot out your tsunami evacuation route first.

You'd also want to look both ways before crossing the beach, also known as one of Washington's public highways. This ain't Oregon - they loves them some beach motoring in this state, even if the speed limit on the sand is 25 MPH. Of course, not all Washingtonians approve of the tidal zone traffic jam.

If you had the time on the way home from your coastal CLE, after learning a bit more about how to help the sad kids and beautiful losers in your caseload, you might have stopped to pay your respects at Kurt Cobain's childhood house, two blocks from the muddy banks of the Wishkah. Then you'd be all set.