WA: ex- p.d. sues ACLU

From the Columbia Basin Herald:

ACLU sued by former public defender - Grant County attorneys named as being blacklisted

A former Grant County Superior Court public defender is suing the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington, claiming the organization publicly targeted him late last year as a poor performer.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday... by Moses Lake attorney Randy Smith... alleging "defamation," "invasion of privacy" and "disclosure of private facts," according to court documents... Smith's lawsuit comes 10 months after the ACLU and Columbia Legal Services won a highly publicized $500,000 settlement agreement in a class-action lawsuit the two nonprofit organizations brought against Grant County, alleging an inadequate public defense system.

As part of the settlement agreement, the ACLU insisted the county deny Smith and Moses Lake attorney Ted Mahr... future contracts. The county agreed, but the two names were to be kept secret in a sealed court document.

But the ACLU revealed the two names, attaching the sealed document to copies of the settlement agreement the organization e-mailed to media outlets...