Other side of story needs to be told

A recent letter in The Herald by a “victim” of a rape has been followed up by several letter writers chastising Judge Larry McKeeman for a ruling he made in this trial.

Well, as Paul Harvey said, “now for the rest of the story.” First of all, no letter writer has mentioned that the defendant in this case was acquitted.

In a criminal trial any defendant must be acquitted if the jury finds there is not a preponderance of the evidence to convict such defendant.

I served as a Court Reporter in Snohomish County Superior Court for over 25 years before retiring several years ago. During my career the judges in our county were very respected throughout the state and Snohomish County was well known for the excellent calibre of our judicial bench. In my opinion, this has not changed since I retired.

I am proud to have spent the last five years of my career as the reporter for Judge Larry McKeeman. He was, and continues to be, an outstanding judge.

A recent letter urged The Herald to investigate this matter. While judges refrain from commenting on cases, perhaps The Herald could contact the defendant’s attorney for “the rest of the story,” and perhaps such an investigation might be of interest to those letter writers who have so far only heard one side of the story.

PATRICIA WLAZLAK

Marysville