Complaint Review: Stewart Beall MacNichols & Harmell - Kent Washington

In 2005 I was arrested and charged by the city of Kent (Washington) for Extortion and Harassment. The city claimed that I was harassing them and then tried to extort money from them. Total BS.

Kent, Washington, Attorney Ken Harmell represented me in the case. I would have done better representing myself. I notified Mr Harmell by fax and e-mail that I wanted to fight the charges. Mr Harmell soon talked me in to accepting a plea deal. The fact that my father had recently passed away, and my mother needed my help in California, I agreed to the plea deal as long as there was no jail time involved so I could put an end to this and take care of family business.

At the hearing Mr Harmell briefly explained the plea deal and asked me to sign two papers. Mr Harmell failed to show me a third page that stated / implied that I was stalking and harassing a child for immoral purposes. The city's complaint against me was for harassment and extortion. There were NO children involved.

Earlier this year I requested copies of my file from the city. That was when I saw the third page falsely accusing me of stalking and harassing a child for immoral purposes. I was pissed. I sent a nasty letter to the attorney blasting him for this, explaining that I would never have agreed to any plea deal if I had seen the third page with the "stalking and harassing a child for immoral purposes" statement.

Ken Harmell denied any wrongdoing and refused to help me fix the situation. Ken Harmell and his company are also public defenders for the city of Kent. My opinion? Ken was over worked and did not want to take the time for a trial. With the exception of a few minutes conference time before each hearing, Mr Harmell never met with me to discuss my case. I was prepared to fight the charges but Mr Harmell talked me in to a plea deal and then withheld info about the deal that could portray me in a negative light.

I should have spent the time, and more money, on a better attorney. These are my opinions based on my personal experience with this attorney. I could have ignored this. Chances of anyone seeing my misdemeanor case file from a town up in Washington state are very slim. I just don't want to see others get screwed over with false allegations. I believe most attorney's prefer plea deals to avoid costly court trials. Before accepting any plea deal, please make sure you read every detail, and spend a few extra dollars if you can for a more qualified attorney.

Attorney Ken Harmell and his law firm, Stewart Beall MacNichols And Harmell, received, and may still receive, a lot of business from the City of Kent as public defenders. Could this explain why Ken didn't vigorously defend me against the city? City of Kent attorney Arthur Pat Fitzpatrick had previously threatened to vigorously prosecute me (via e-mail). In the charging papers by the city it was stated that I was trying to expose secrets. I'm assuming Arthur Pat Fitzpatrick was afraid I'd go public with what I know about some photos.

Because I confronted Ken about him misrepresenting me, and the fact that I was upset, who wouldn't be, and the fact that I filed this report online, Ken has filed a complaint against me with King County falsely accusing me of harassment and cyberstalking. Everyone has a legal right to voice their opinions and file complaints. This website, and many others, give people the legal right to file complaints. I also filed a complaint with the Washington State Bar Association against Ken. This is my personal opinions based on my experiences with those mentioned.