EVERETT — A Darrington man who claims to be a leader of the fictitious "Freedom County" was locked up in a real Snohomish County jail cell Thursday after being ordered to start serving a sentence for illegally acting as a lawyer.
Thomas Elliott Satterlee, 54, was convicted of unauthorized practice of law, a gross misdemeanor. His jury trial was in May 2002 in the Cascade Division of Snohomish County District Court in Arlington.
Satterlee has since been appealing the verdict. He has filed court papers claiming that his involvement as the "bishop" of a self-styled religious group gives him authority to take legal actions. He has also argued that his conviction was the result of "pique and bias" over the claims he and others have made that they have broken away from Snohomish County and are no longer under the authority of its courts or officials.
Satterlee has repeatedly claimed he was elected a Freedom County commissioner while he and supporters made a 1995 bus trip to Olympia. Freedom County backers presented the Legislature with petitions they assert carved the new county from about 1,000 square miles of northern Snohomish County.
State and federal courts have repeatedly ruled that Freedom County does not exist.
Satterlee’s attempts to overturn his conviction have met with similar defeat, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Tom Curtis said.
Among other things, Satterlee tried and failed to get the state Supreme Court to review his conviction as a legal emergency. He’s still pressing matters in the state Court of Appeals. That same court is considering an unrelated case brought by Freedom County backers, who are still pressing for legal recognition.
Satterlee’s conviction stems from his intercession on his son-in-law’s behalf in a civil case involving a traffic accident. A Seattle law firm contacted the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office after they realized that legal papers they were receiving were generated by Satterlee, who is not an attorney or a member of the Washington State Bar Association.
Cascade District Court Judge Jay Wisman sentenced Satterlee to 30 days in jail and imposed a $450 fine. The judge stayed the punishment while Satterlee appealed his conviction. Wisman ordered Satterlee into jail after Thursday’s hearing, rejecting the man’s bid to serve his time in home detention, court records show.
The judge also imposed 335 days as a suspended sentence, meaning the time could be imposed if Satterlee violates conditions of his probation.
Reporter Scott North: 425-339-3431 or north@heraldnet.com.
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