Salvador Mungia is the President-elect of the Washington State Bar Association and he has weighed in on a local legal controversy in a manner that raises my hopes for the resolution of widespread corruption in the Seattle/King County Bar.
The matter at hand is allegations against a Pierce County Superior Court Judge, just elected last November. Mungia is the former head of the Tacoma/Pierce Bar, and along with five other former officers he has put forth a point of law about the profession's responsibility to the public.
The point is subtle, but very important - they argue that although a private individual may well choose to stay silent about allegations a public individual, such as Judge Hecht, must respond, even if there is not evidence enough to prosecute. The important point here is that they argue that lawyers have a special responsibility to the public they serve. It is truly shameful that the Bar would take any other position - perhaps the best indicator of legal corruption in this State.
KOMO TV was able to get a response from Hecht, via his Attorney, for their excellent story on the subject. Ket's hope this isn't just an isolated incidence of high mindedness to favor a crony, but rather a timely opportunity to make an important point of law.
Certainly Pierce County has had it's share of corruption. The difference is, we've dealt with ours, King County (a much larger legal community) continues to try to sweep everything under the rug, as any spoiled rotten primadonna will do. Heck, they even accuse those who hold them accountable of criminal behavior...
