By Jim Haley
Herald Writer
Former Sheriff Patrick Murphy, who won a $2.6 million jury verdict in May against the state, apparently won’t be able to pursue additional civil rights damages in federal court.
U.S. District Court Judge John Coughenour has signed an order dismissing the civil lawsuit against Snohomish County and several state and county officials, the Snohomish County prosecuting attorney’s office said Monday.
"It does show the judge respected the jury" that decided May 1 there was no civil conspiracy between county and state officials when Murphy’s prescription drug information was investigated in 1995, said Bob Drewel, Snohomish County executive.
Drewel, chief criminal deputy prosecutor Jim Townsend and then county Councilwoman Karen Miller were among the individuals accused of violating Murphy’s rights in an investigation prior to him losing an election for sheriff.
Three members of the state Pharmacy Board and the county also had been defendants in the lawsuit.
Coughenour found that the factual allegations in the federal court suit were the same as in the state case heard by the Superior Court jury last year. Although Murphy also raised allegations of civil rights violations in the federal suit, the judge ruled that all the damages should have been sought during the same trial.
"In a nutshell, what he’s saying is they received their compensation for injuries they claimed," said Paul Triesch, assistant attorney general. "We’re happy with the decision. We think it’s a correct result."
Murphy said he’s disappointed because he wanted to hold more people accountable for what happened to him.
Murphy was appointed sheriff in early 1995, but concerns over his use of prescription drugs for a severe jaw injury led the Pharmacy Board to investigate. The board later turned the information over to county officials.
A special prosecutor charged Murphy with fraudulently obtaining prescription drugs. However, the criminal case was dropped after critical material was suppressed because investigators didn’t get a search warrant to delve into Murphy’s prescription history.
He lost the election that November to Rick Bart, the current sheriff.
Murphy filed lawsuits in state and federal courts, seeking up to $10 million damages, and won $2.6 million from the state in a lengthy Snohomish County Superior Court trial. His family won about $200,000 in additional damages.
The jury ruled that the confidential information about Murphy should not have been passed on to others.
Coughenour noted that the Snohomish County jury found that there was no conspiracy between state and local officials, and the facts of the federal case are "inextricably intertwined" with the jury’s conspiracy decision.
Murphy said he’s disappointed "because we had other issues we wanted to bring out." He said the lawsuit wasn’t intended to bring him a lot more money.
His Seattle lawyer, Mark Northcraft, said the Murphys were only attempting to get attorney fees. They sought only "nominal" damages from the county.
"The state verdict compensated Patrick for damages those defendants did to him and his family," Northcraft said.
Northcraft said he will appeal Coughenour’s decision, at least as it relates to the Pharmacy Board officials. He said he hasn’t decided whether he will appeal the decision as it pertains to the county and county officials.
Tom Fitzpatrick, chief civil deputy prosecutor, said he’s gratified by the result, particularly because Coughenour saw no need to go beyond the May jury decision that the county wasn’t involved in a conspiracy.
Triesch, the assistant attorney general, said he submitted four grounds to Coughenour for dismissing the lawsuit, and the judge only addressed one in his decision made Friday.
Meanwhile, the state has appealed the May jury verdict. The case could be argued in the state Court of Appeals this fall, Triesch said.
The state has not paid the Murphys anything because of the pending appeal. However, the lawyers said the state will have to pay between $900 and $1,000 a day in interest going back to the May 1 verdict if Murphy prevails on appeal.
You can call Herald Writer Jim Haley at 425-339-3447 or send e-mail to haley@heraldnet.com.
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