Steven J. Tucker Receives WSBA Courageous Award

Seattle, Washington, September 13, 2001 — Spokane lawyer Steven J. Tucker will receive the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) Courageous Award today in Seattle. The Courageous Award is presented to a lawyer who has displayed exceptional courage in the face of adversity, thus bringing credit to the legal profession.

Mr. Tucker is in his first term as Spokane County prosecuting attorney, although he worked in the prosecutor's office for 10 years prior to his election. He is also a former Washington State Patrol trooper.

Upon taking office, one of Mr. Tucker's first challenges concerned the prosecution of accused serial killer Robert Yates. At the time of arrest, there was great public outcry for the death penalty. During plea negotiations, Mr. Tucker was presented with a proposal in which Mr. Yates would disclose the location of a victim's body and solve six other murders, if the death penalty was not pursued. Mr. Tucker discussed the proposal with the victims' families and discovered that most of them sought closure and wanted Mr. Yates to spend his life in prison. After considerable deliberation, a plea agreement was reached whereby Mr. Yates pleaded guilty to 13 counts of first-degree murder and was sentenced to 408 years in prison.

Mr. Tucker's decision drew national attention and resulted in a firestorm of public criticism. By accepting a plea agreement, he avoided years of costly litigation, guaranteed a lifelong prison sentence for Mr. Yates, and provided closure for the victims' families.

The Washington State Bar Association is a private, nonprofit organization authorized by the Washington Supreme Court to license the state's 26,500 lawyers. The WSBA both regulates lawyers under the authority of the Court and serves its members as a professional association — all without public funding. As a regulatory agency, it administers the bar exam, provides record-keeping and licensing functions, and administers the lawyer discipline program. As a professional association, the WSBA provides continuing legal education for attorneys, in addition to numerous other educational and member service activities.