A King County judge said Thursday he was very troubled by emails that showed a private attorney had tried to give Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank legal advice this week in violation of his orders.
Superior Court Judge Michael Ryan opted not to sanction the lawyer, Joan Mell, who Pierce County Prosecutor Mary Robnett has sued for allegedly invading her core functions as sole legal advisor to county officials. Ryan said he would show Mell some grace.
But Ryan likely won’t look as kindly on future violations of his June 16 preliminary injunction that barred Mell from acting as a lawyer for the sheriff. Next time, he said, he would investigate Mell for contempt of court…