Chris Bayley's Back to the 70's Gathering

 

Back to the 70’s

In 2002, Chris Bayley held reunion for members of his King County Prosecutor’s Office in the 1970s. He published a booklet containing short bios of those members and in this is an excerpt from the preface to the booklet:

“I like to remember it has a group of colleagues, experienced pros from the Chuck Carroll's office, baby prosecutors from one of the first ever efforts to recruit for “our side“ at law schools, all led by very young and shockingly inexperienced “top staff.“ On that point, the division chiefs, chief administrator, and elected prosecutor himself were roughly peers: around 33 years of age as we were sworn in in January, 1971. I still remember the shock and disbelief expressed (strongly) by Mr. Carroll when my elder adviser Mort Frayn and I met with him as a courtesy in June 1970 to tell him that I would file against him. 

“The eight years working with all of you in the office and campaigns was the most rewarding career among the several I have had, and I thank you all who made it possible. At today's reunion and in this book may we relive some of those days that our children would call quote back in the day... CTB”

Here are some pictures taken that afternoon and evening. Who can you identify besides Mark Sidran and Becky Roe as Sonny and Cher?

The Reformers: Chris Bayley and Norm Maleng

In this site I want to share memories of and thoughts about roadways to criminal justice system reform. More than that, I want to share photographs pertaining to the King County Prosecutor's office and more, which are not contained in the Roadways to Justice book.  Here are two trail blazers - Chris Bayley, who defeated Charles O. Carroll in the early 1970s for the job of King County Prosecutor and his successor Norm Maleng. Carroll had been an all American football player at the University of Washington and a lawyer in Seattle before becoming the King County Prosecutor. Carroll had been in office for 22 years as the Prosecutor. During his time in office and going back to the Klondike gold rush of 1897 there had been a Seattle Police Department payoff system in place. Reformer Bayley campaigned for the Prosecutor's office with a pledge to end public corruption. He fulfilled his pledge. Bayley endorsed Norm Maleng and Maleng became the King County Prosecutor, and like Chris, Norm had a reformers mindset. I worked for both of them. 

New Book: Roadways to Justice: Reforming the Criminal Justice System

My new book Roadways to Justice: Reforming the Criminal Justice System was just published and is available now on Amazon. America’s criminal justice system is grappling with multiple issues – police officer-involved deaths and violence; mass incarceration; racial, gender, and sexual orientation bias; the death penalty; public corruption; juvenile justice; disparate sentencing; and the ill effects of Three Strikes laws. These and other issues are examined through the lens of my experience as both a career prosecutor and educator of prosecutors. 

 Roadways to Justice tells remarkable stories of selected cases, trials, and, above all else, quests for justice. The book argues that the criminal justice system can be changed, and it offers inspiration, practical solutions, and roadmaps for how to reform that system. This volume is ideal for anyone interested in understanding how the criminal justice system really works, and it is an indispensable handbook for the new wave of lawyers, lawmakers, and others who want to improve it.  

New Book: Roadways to Justice: Reforming the Criminal Justice System Podcast

Below is a webinar that you can view if you wish regarding Roadways to Justice.