Amy Freedheim KCPAO Women in Leadership
This Women’s History Month, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is highlighting some of the depth and breadth of women leaders in our office as part of our “Women in Leadership” series. These profiles are only a few of the many amazing women in our office.
How long have you worked at the PAO?
I began my career in January of 1991. I was hired in the fall of 1990 to start at the end of January and was actually in California visiting family, and had a voicemail asking if I could start two weeks early in January.
I started in Renton District Court. It felt crazy in those days. There were two judges and three courtrooms and I was learning about criminal law on the fly. I had very little idea what I was doing. There were no supervisors.
What is your role in the PAO?
In 1999, I recommended we have a DPA specialize in handling felony traffic crimes. They said “here.” I handle vehicular homicides and assaults, hit and run deaths cases, and since 2007 (when the law was created) felony-DUI crimes. I’m on call 24/7 and work with the detectives and patrol from investigation, filing charges, negotiation, and plea and sentencing. I handle some trials and help supervise the trials of those cases that I’m not trying myself.
What were you doing before coming to the PAO?
Immediately after law school, when I first moved out in Seattle I started working on the “No on 35 Campaign,” which was an initiative campaign in the City of Seattle to retain domestic partnership benefits for City of Seattle employees. Seattle was one of the first cities to provide domestic partnership benefits for employees, and there was an initiative to remove that benefit from Seattle, so I worked on the campaign to defeat that initiative.
I ended up being a co-chair of that campaign, and it was a great way for me to get to know the demographics in Seattle and get to meet a wide variety of people in politics. All but one of the City Councilmembers, the mayor, and a majority of city leaders endorsed the campaign. It was a great way to dive into the City and this area and understand the dynamics. We were successful, and it was the first city to stop this onslaught that was taking away LGBTQ rights. And we put a pause on it with our successful campaign.
What are some of your goals in regards to the work you do?
In my work on felony traffic crimes, I try to educate the public, judges, legislators, and my fellow prosecutors about the importance of holding people accountable who commit these crimes. The crimes are unintentional; nobody gets in the car and says “I’m going to kill somebody today” — if they do then it’s a different crime category — but these are incredibly selfish and irresponsible actions that are completely preventable. And they result in catastrophic consequences. I want folks to understand that these are crimes and I want to ensure victims of these horrific crimes that they have had a voice and feel that they were treated fairly. I also feel these crimes can be an opportunity for offenders to take responsibility, get treatment, and make amends.
Another sort of side goal as a senior, veteran, woman deputy in this office, is to hopefully be a mentor and role model to other women deputies and staff. My seniority allows me to be more vocal about equity and equality for women in this office.
What sort of obstacles have you faced in your field? What was it like dealing with those?
Specifically in felony traffic and criminal law, the biggest obstacle is that crashes are seen as an accident. People don’t refer to it as a crime or criminal behavior. However, vehicular homicide and assaults are not accidents. These are collisions. Preventable collisions. Vehicular homicides are probably one of the most preventable homicides. The obstacles I’ve had professionally, with the education around felony traffic crimes, is they are not always taken as seriously as the murders, robberies, and rapes. I have definitely seen that begin to change over the past 20 years.
By using the right language, e.g., collision, not accident, and ensuring that victims know our office takes these crimes seriously and always making the time to answer media’s questions and explain the law and consequences to them, all of this has helped raise the level of practice in these cases. I am often asked to testify before legislators and I relish helping educate the legislature about the importance of these crimes and the nuances in the law. I’ve taught prosecutors, police, driving instructors, and even was asked to give a presentation at one of the public defender agencies.
On a personal level, 21 years ago I became a single mother. I was still expected to be a full-time trial attorney and had just started the felony traffic gig. When my child was not quite a toddler, I was told I also had to go down to the MRJC and take on the felony traffic crimes down there (so all the crimes in the county). Meanwhile, I had to pick up my child at a Seattle daycare by 5 p.m. while being at the RJC twice a week, and obviously when in trial. It was tough and exhausting. I think we are seeing a lot of that during the pandemic — the studies are showing that the burden falls more heavily on women for childcare issues. Working mothers are exhausted. I think that our office has improved and is better at addressing these issues, like by having part time options which can be helpful for working parents, and now you get paid maternity/paternity care even if you don’t have enough sick time. In my day you saved your sick time to use during maternity time off.
What advice would you give to other women who are considering a similar career path?
Mentorship is really important. It’s important to have women in leadership positions. So look for an office that has good representation. But mostly, this is a great career for doing justice and being a public servant.
I have had an amazing career. If you are considering going into prosecution, this is a great office to work for. I’ve personally found prosecution to be an opportunity to do justice and be a public servant in a really fulfilling way. It is not just being beholden to one particular individual; it is doing justice for the community at large.
This office itself has allowed me to dig into my passion and I’m very grateful for that.
I started this job with the Chief Criminal Prosecutor at the time, Ron Clark, saying we’d like you to stay three years. And in my head saying “well what are they going to do if I leave after two” — and it’s been 30 years now! That has been in large part because of the people in this office. You spend so much time with the people you work with, and I think it’s important to like and respect the people you work with. Overall, the people in this office from staff to administrators to my fellow DPAs are amazing individuals, committed to justice and to family.
Anything else you’d like to share?
I want to say thank you to some of the women with whom I worked and served in our office who were my role models even if they never knew it: Becky Roe, Kathy Goater, Sue Noonan, Monica Benton (judge), Marilyn Nowogroski, Patricia Clark (judge), Lynn Moberly, Cheryl Carey (judge), Kristin Richardson (judge), Barb Linde (judge), Patty Eakes, Erin Ehlert, Carolyn McKee, Gloria Burton, Maureen Galloway, Elaine Pauly, Ella Boss, just to name a few who are no longer in our office. There are many, many women currently working DPAs, staff, and in administration who I admire daily.
###
Catch up with the entire KCPAO Women in Leadership series on our blog at kcprosecutor.medium.com/.
