A Seattle attorney convicted of striking a courthouse marshal outside a courtroom in 2004 will spend two months in the Snohomish County Jail.
A visiting judge sentenced Christopher Philip Bartow to the middle of the sentencing range for assaulting Marshal George Willoth, who had asked Bartow to leave the courthouse because of a disturbance.
He’s scheduled to begin serving his time Jan. 3.
Churchill, an Island County Superior Court judge, presided over Bartow’s trial because Snohomish County judges stepped aside from hearing the case.
A jury convicted Bartow of felony third-degree assault Nov. 18.
The jail sentence isn’t Bartow’s only worry. Following his conviction, the state Supreme Court suspended Bartow’s license to practice law.
Judy Berrett, a spokeswoman for the state Bar Association, said such a suspension is common when an attorney is convicted of a felony. He’s suspended while the bar’s disciplinary committee reviews the matter, she said.
The parties have “reached an agreed resolution” that will have to be reviewed by the disciplinary committee in January, Berrett said. The length of the suspension won’t be made public until after the review, she added.
On Sept. 20, 2004, Bartow was representing himself in a revision of a child-custody order in ongoing litigation with his ex-wife.
Deputy prosecutor Ed Stemler said in court papers that Bartow kept interrupting a court commissioner, and Willoth asked him to step outside into a hallway to talk. When Bartow kept arguing, the marshal asked him to leave the courthouse, Stemler said.
Stemler accused Bartow of striking the marshal when Willoth attempted to arrest him for disorderly conduct.
A jury agreed it was assault, although Bartow maintained during his trial that Willoth attacked him.
On Monday, Stemler asked Churchill to impose the maximum penalty under the law, three months in jail.
This time Bartow brought a lawyer to represent him. Attorney Jason Newcombe of Seattle argued that whatever happened was not a usual occurrence for Bartow.
“Whatever transpired on this date is not the Chris Bartow we all know and love,” said Newcombe, who asked for the minimum sentence of one month.
But Churchill told Bartow his conduct during the trial was “out of control in many respects. This was a serious assault done in a place where others come for justice and security.”
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@ heraldnet.com.
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