This Year's Award Winners

WACDL's 2024 Award Winners


Certificates of Appreciation 

In recognition of and appreciation for distinguished service to the organization and its goals.
Kimberly Gordon, for her years of service on the Sentencing Guidelines Commission
Louis Frantz, for his years of service as a WACDL representative on the King County Public Defense Advisory Board
Anna M. Tolin, for her support to the Executive Director during this year of transition
Travis Stearns, for his support in soliciting faculty and developing curriculum for this year's pre-conference
Sarah Perez, for her support securing a 25% increase in holiday party sponsors this year and ongoing efforts to gain outside financial support for the organization
Ramona Brandes, for her extraordinary work on the legislative committee
David A. Trieweiler, for his extraordinary work on the legislative committee
Jason S. Lantz, for his extraordinary work on the legislative committee
Christie Hedman, for her leadership and support during the legislative session
Michael A. Frost, for his unflagging support for WACDL, and his contributions in developing this year's fundraiser to support the growth and sustainability of the organization

Champion of Justice Award
Recognizing individuals who — through legislative, judicial, journalistic, or humanitarian pursuits — have staunchly preserved or defended the constitutional rights of Washington residents and endeavored to ensure justice and due process for those accused of crimes.

Katrin Johnson
Katrin began her legal career as a public defender in rural Minnesota. Many years later she started at WA State OPD in 2012, and now serves as the Deputy Director for Operations. Katrin's work at OPD has included administering state grant funds to city and county public defense programs, developing the Criminal Defense Training Academy, assembling and supervising OPD’s Blake team, and supervising the Youth Access to Counsel Program. Katrin loves to geek-out over discussions on public defense administration and funding systems, and their impacts on client-centered services. When not working, she’s usually found with her family, walking her dogs, or playing guitar.

Grace O'Connor

Grace O’Connor is a career public service lawyer. After a variety of civil practice roles, Grace moved from practice to project management at the Washington State Office of Public Defense in 2021. At State OPD she helped coordinate implementation in the statewide public defense community of State v. Blake, a state supreme court decision that made over 250,000 felony and misdemeanor drug convictions eligible to vacate. Grace currently manages a new program for State OPD, administering funding and other resources to assist in the public defense response to the simple possession gross misdemeanor crimes created by Senate Bill 5536 in 2023. She graduated magna cum laude from Gonzaga University School of Law in 2005.

Justice Mary Yu

Mary I. Yu was appointed to the Washington Supreme Court by Governor Inslee on May 1, 2014, after serving 14 years as a trial court judge in King County Superior Court. She was elected to a full six-year term on the Supreme Court in 2016 and in 2022. Justice Yu earned a B.A. degree in Theology from Dominican University, a M.A. degree in Religious Studies from Mundelein of Loyola University and her J.D. degree from the University of Notre Dame.

A frequent speaker for legal education seminars, Justice Yu is also active in a variety of community and professional activities including:

  • Distinguished Jurist in Residence at Seattle University School of Law and Instructor;
  • The State of Washington Minority & Justice Commission (co-chair); and
  • Member of the American Law Institute;

Justice Yu is the recipient of numerous awards and a full list can be found at: http://www.courts.wa.gov/appellate_trial_courts/supreme/bios/?fa=scbios.display_file&fileID=Yu
The daughter of immigrants and the first in her family to go to college, Justice Yu is the first woman of color (first Asian and first Latina) and the first member of the LGBTQ community to serve on the Washington State Supreme Court.


Anthony Savage Award
The Anthony Savage Award recognizes an outstanding trial performance or result achieved by an attorney in practice less than ten years. The recipient also becomes the caretaker for Tony Savage’s briefcase, up to the timethe next Savage Award is given. Only one Savage Award may be given each year.

Dustin Howie
Prior to entering the law, Dustin attended university on Vancouver Island.  In his undergrad, Dustin obtained a B.Sc. in Molecular Cell Biology and Analytical Chemistry.  After completing his undergraduate degree and moving to the States, Dustin entered law school at Gonzaga University.
Originally, Dustin served as an assistant prosecutor for the City of Spokane.  After serving as a prosecutor for two years, Dustin changed paths and joined the City of Spokane Public Defender.  Since then, Dustin has litigated blood DUI testing around the State and assisted multiple counties with briefing, declarations, and blood related resources.  Dustin has authored two amicus briefs for expired blood vial cases pending in Division II and serves as the defense attorney representative on the State’s Office of Independent Investigations (OII) Advisory Board.  This agency conducts fair, thorough, transparent, and competent investigations of police use of force and other incidents involving law enforcement.
Dustin’s passion is DUI defense and blood toxicology.  He is honored to be chosen as the recipient of WACDL’s Tony Savage Award and to join the list of exceptional attorneys who have been prior award winners.

President's Awards
Presented in recognition of achievement in a particular case or series of related cases, or long-time service to the criminal defense bar.

Barry Flegenheimer
Barry Flegenheimer has devoted his entire career to vigorously defending the accused in federal and state courts.
Barry began his legal career at The Defender Association (TDA) where he quickly established himself as an effective and creative advocate. As a new attorney, he worked on the significant appeals in State v. Thorkelsen, 84 Wash. App.854 (1980)(Court of Appeals held absent extenuating circumstances, photographic identification procedures of in-custody defendants should not be used) and State v. McCullum, 98 Wash.2d 484 (1983)(Washington Supreme Court’s landmark case holding due process required the State to prove the absence of self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt.)  At TDA, Barry zealously defended individuals in the felony, misdemeanor, juvenile and civil commitment units. He also served as supervisor for the then 30-attorney misdemeanor division.
In 1987, Barry entered private practice and continued to champion the rights of criminal defendants.  As a partner at Bell Flegenheimer, Barry achieved tremendous success representing clients facing a broad array of allegations, including complex fraud, regulatory, drug and other offenses from misdemeanors to aggravated homicides.  A few of Barry’s notable cases include: United States v. Federov (earning a not guilty verdict in a well-publicized 1990s “Russian Mafia” extortion trial); In Re the PRP of James Brett (obtaining a reversal of conviction and death sentence, by a unanimous Washington Supreme Court, based on ineffective assistance of counsel); United States v. Ricky Jenks (obtaining a hung jury after a six-month trial in a Hell’s Angel’s racketeering prosecution); Stein, et al v. Wood, et al (prevailing in a writ of habeas corpus reinstating the petitioner’s dismissed appeal of convictions for three counts of attempted murder); and, State v. Louis Chen (achieving reduced charges in the case of a doctor charged with killing his partner and child).  Recently, in two ten-week trials, Barry represented the lead defendant in a massive Idaho fraud prosecution involving the sale of counterfeit trademarked cell phones and accessories.   
Barry has also served as President of WACDL, and throughout his career he has collaborated with many brilliant luminaries from the organization. He appreciates the community of dedicated defense attorneys with whom he has worked and who have helped to create a network of attorneys and legal professionals committed to the highest standards of defending the civil liberties of the accused.

Laura Shaver
Laura Shaver is a criminal defense attorney who focuses her practice on representing individuals accused of violent felony offenses. She has experience representing the criminally accused at every stage of their case – oftentimes her representation begins at the investigation stage and concludes when the case is resolved by a jury verdict, plea, or some other resolution. She also frequently represents those who have been convicted and are seeking post-conviction relief, including clemency and pardon petitions, removal from sex offender registration, CrR 7.8 proceedings, and appeals. Laura is a skilled trial lawyer winning the Charles T. Bumer Civil Libertarian Award in 2011, and the Anthony Savage Award in 2019. Previously, she was a public defender in Yakima County.

Tim Leary

Tim knew that he was destined for a career in public speaking when he passed out while giving a speech on the workings of the human eye to his sixth-grade classmates. Tim woke up, surrounded by a mixture of concerned and laughing faces, thinking he was made for this.   
Over the past 24 years, Tim has grown into his career. Tim spent eight years working as a Deputy King County Prosecutor. For the last 15 years, he has had the privilege of working as a criminal defense attorney in state courts. His caseload has ranged from the ridiculous: criminal dog barking in Renton Municipal Court, to the serious: murder in the first degree. As everyone in WACDL can appreciate, the one constant has been the tremendous clients that we get to advocate for and assist. He looks forward to continuing this work side by side with all of his great colleagues. 


William O. Douglas Award
The highest award presented by the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; presented in recognition of extraordinary courage and commitment in the practice of criminal law.

George Bianchi
The Bianchi Law Firm was originally founded in 1960 by Alfred J. Bianchi, George’s father.  After graduating from law school, George was told by his father that the firm could not afford for George to learn at their client’s expense, so George was ultimately hired by the King County Prosecutor’s Office.  George was finally allowed to join the law firm in 1985 and has since become recognized as an innovator in the defense of DUI and other alcohol/drug-related crimes. George has lectured at numerous CLE programs throughout the United States concerning DUI defense and has been lead counsel in a number of cases resolving significant criminal law issues. He is a member of the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (WACDL), the Washington Defenders Association (WDA), the Washington Foundation for Criminal Justice (WFCJ), and is a former president of Washington Foundation for Criminal Justice. George is a Founding Member, graduate, and guest lecturer of The National College for DUI Defense (NCDD). He was elected to the position of Regent with The National College for DUI Defense in July of 2000, elected Dean in 2010, and currently is a Fellow to The NCDD. Since 1999, Martindale-Hubbell has awarded him with their highest accolade, an AV rating in the legal profession, which he currently maintains. He has been named to the “Super Lawyers” list by Washington Law & Politics annually since 2000.  In 1999, the WFCJ presented him with an Award for Creative Advocacy. In 2003, he was presented with the Dean’s Service Award “In Recognition of His Tireless Dedication, Generosity, and Efforts on behalf of the NCDD. In 2012, George was presented with a “Certificate of Appreciation” from WACDL “In Recognition of and Appreciation for Distinguished Service to the Organization and Its Goals” and in 2013, this same organization presented him with the “President’s Award” “For Your Distinguished Service to the Highest Traditions of the Criminal Defense Bar.” In December of 2013, the WFCJ presented George with an award for his “Tireless Leadership, Courage, Integrity, and Command of the Law” and in 2016 this same organization presented him with an “Attorney of the Year” award. In 2017 WACDL presented him with a “Champion of Justice Award” for his contributions to the Draeger Litigation Group. In 2022 the NCDD presented George with the “Erwin-Taylor Lifetime Achievement Award.”