Norm Maleng
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Norman "Kim" Maleng (September 17, 1938 – May 24, 2007) was an American attorney and politician who served as the King County Prosecuting Attorney for 28 years. He was also an architect of Washington's Sentencing Reform Act.


Early life and education

Maleng was born in Acme, Washington, and grew up on a dairy farm. Known as "Kim" during his youth, he graduated from the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
in 1960, then served as a lieutenant in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
. He earned a
Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...
in 1966 from the University of Washington Law School, serving as editor-in-chief of the ''Washington Law Review'' and graduating at the top of his class.


Career

He worked in private practice in Seattle, and then as chief of the Civil Division of the Prosecutor's Office. In 1978, he was elected as Prosecutor, and was re-elected seven times. Maleng was involved in a number of high-profile cases, including the 1983 Wah Mee massacre, the 2006 Seattle Jewish Federation shooting committed by Naveed Afzal Haq, child sexual abuse allegations against King County Superior Court Judge Gary Little, and the serial murders of
Gary Ridgway Gary Leon Ridgway (born February 18, 1949), known as the Green River Killer or the Green River Strangler, is an American serial killer who was convicted of murdering forty-nine women between 1982 and 1998 in the northwestern United States. At ...
. Maleng's office made several controversial decisions not to prosecute various University of Washington football players over his tenure as King County Prosecuting Attorney, for alleged offenses that ranged from battery to sexual assault. His office declined to prosecute
Jerramy Stevens Jerramy Ryan Stevens (born November 13, 1979) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Washington Huskies and was selected by the Seattle ...
for sexual assault, announcing on October 24, 2000, that no charges would be brought forward. Around 2008, Maryann Parker, the detective investigating the case, said: "I thought erramyshould have been charged. I think most people in the Police Department thought he should have been charged. From the police perspective, I think there was overwhelming evidence that a crime had occurred. And then I think we should have left it to a jury to decide. I think we just felt, in our unit and in the Police Department as a whole, that this case was handled differently. And we felt it was because he was a University of Washington football star.” He ran for the Republican nomination for Governor of Washington in 1988 and 1996. In 1992, he lost an election for
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
to
Christine Gregoire Christine Gregoire (; née O'Grady; born March 24, 1947) is an American attorney and politician who served as the List of governors of Washington, 22nd governor of Washington, from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), D ...
. Maleng is credited with bringing several large scale policy reforms to Washington State's Criminal Justice system including passage of the 1984 Sentencing Reform Act, tougher penalties for car thefts in 2007 and rethinking the prosecution of low level drug offenses by placing emphasis on treatment options after a first or second offense, rather than lengthy prison sentences. Attorneys who worked for Maleng as deputy prosecuting attorneys include Marsha J. Pechman, Robert S. Lasnik and Ricardo S. Martinez, all judges of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, and Dan Satterberg, his successor Maleng supervised the wrongful prosecution and conviction of Steve Titus in 1981. Titus was convicted based upon evidence manufactured by Port of Seattle police, with the knowledge of prosecutors. The conviction was overturned after the deception was exposed by a Seattle Times reporter, Paul Henderson.


Death and honors

Maleng died of
cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...
during an event at the University of Washington on May 24, 2007. In December 2007, the King County Regional Justice Center in
Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
, was renamed in his honor. In June 2008,
Harborview Medical Center Harborview Medical Center is a public hospital located in the First Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is owned by King County and managed by UW Medicine. Overview Harborview Medical Center is the designated Disast ...
opened Norm Maleng Building on its campus.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maleng, Norm 1938 births 2007 deaths Washington (state) lawyers People from Whatcom County, Washington People from King County, Washington University of Washington alumni University of Washington School of Law alumni Washington (state) Republicans United States Army officers American prosecutors Lawyers from Seattle 20th-century American lawyers