PORT TOWNSEND — Candidates for Jefferson County prosecuting attorney differ about the election impact of the fourth Michael J. Pierce double-murder trial .
Prosecuting Attorney Scott Rosekrans, 62, is challenged by Port Townsend attorney Michael Haas, 53, in the Nov. 4 general election. Both are Democrats.
They spoke to about 40 people at a noon Port Townsend Rotary Club forum Tuesday.
Pierce, who was convicted in the 2009 double murder of Pat and Janice Yarr in 2010, will begin his fourth trial in Kitsap County Superior Court on Monday.
“Other than me being in Kitsap County four days a week, I don’t think that the trial will have much impact on the election,” said Rosekrans, who has been involved in all of the trials.
“It just means that I won’t be coming to a house near you to doorbell, which I will do on the weekends.
“But my primary focus is to bring Pierce to justice and get the verdict we got the first time. Anything else in my life is secondary right now.”
Said Haas: “The Pierce trial has become an issue.
“There were a number of issues with the first trial, and I can’t comment on the results of the two mistrials, but it is clear that ‘Pierce Four’ will proceed and will probably be appealed.
“So the next administration will be dealing with this in one way or another, unless there is a not-guilty finding at the end of the fourth trial.”
Pierce’s original 2010 conviction was overturned by the state Court of Appeals. Mistrials were called in retrials in Jefferson and Kitsap counties.
The appeals court ruled that Pierce’s constitutional rights were denied after his arrest and that Rosekrans’ closing argument in the original trial represented prosecutorial misconduct.
After an investigation, the Washington State Bar Association later cleared Rosekrans of ethical violations for speculating during closing arguments what the Yarrs and Pierce were thinking during the night of the murders.
Rosekrans called the Court of Appeals’ finding “a bad decision,” adding: “Courts make them all of the time.”
Haas disagreed.
“The Court of Appeals doesn’t find prosecutorial misconduct for the hell of it. If they rule that way, there are some serious reasons,” he said.
Rosekrans said he didn’t know how voters are weighing the issue.
“It depends on each individual voter,” he said.
“I’m hopeful they will make their decision based on the breadth of my experience and what I can bring to the table, and how I’ve managed the office for the last four years with limited resources.”
The two candidates spiced their addresses with humor.
“In a way, I’m a reluctant candidate,” Haas said.
“I have a successful law practice where I can control my own schedule, and my budget conferences usually are me meeting with my partner, and I outweigh him by 70 pounds, and I get my way.”
Rosekrans told about how he was at first going to be a doctor but flunked several college science classes, “so I decided I would kill fewer people if I became a policeman.”
“I like this job because you actually get to see the results of your efforts,” Rosekrans said.
“You know that you are making a difference in the lives of other people, not just the victims but the community and the defendants.”
Said Haas: “It’s a difficult job.
“There are a whole host of issues that come before the prosecutor, and the decisions that you make can be literally life and death.”
General election ballots will be mailed to registered voters living in the county Oct. 15, two weeks from today.
The 2014 Peninsula Daily News’ North Olympic Peninsula Voter Guide will be delivered to subscribers Oct. 17 and be available online at www.peninsuladailynews.com.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
