The National Advocacy Center’s Outstanding Faculty

When I served as Senior Training Counsel at the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, SC, I could bring in faculty from all over the nation. So, the attendees got the best-of-the-best faculty and that meant Mark Larson, Chief of the Criminal Division of the King County Prosecutor’s Office made a few trips to SC. Here he is doing a demonstration of how to do voir dire and  presiding in a courtroom in the NAC. Couldn’t help but throw in him as the Elf to my Santa for KCPA Office holiday parties (and who are those other two stellar lawyers?). 

Memories and Pictures of the National College of District Attorneys and Houston

 

I took a leave from the King County Prosecutor’s Office from 1979 – 1981 and served as the Director of Training for the National College of District Attorneys (NCDA – then the education division of the National District Attorneys Association), which was based in the University of Houston Law Center on the University of Houston campus. The College provided quality educational programs for prosecutors, which I believed then and believe now is the key to reforming the criminal justice system and ensuring that justice is done. 

Back then, the College offered a three-week-long course for career prosecutors. The course was in the Law Center and prosecutors would come from around the country and stay in dormitories on the college campus. Pictured above is the class of 1981. Dean John Jay Douglas is in the center of the front row. I’m in the third row back on the right. Down in the first row on the right is then Assistant Dean Fertitta. 

Later, Bob Fertitta became the Dean and he and NCDA moved to Columbia, SC near the National Advocacy Center. Below he is pictured sitting in a rocking chair on the front porch of the NAC.

When I was in Houston with the NCDA, it was a boom town (oil) with 5000 cars added to the road each week. It was the time of Urban Cowboy and John Travolta. Faculty and attendees wanted to go to Gilley’s to ride the bull, shoot pool and dance the 2-step. As you can tell from this photo, I got into it with hat, cowboy boots and all.

Gathering of Criminal Justice Reformers

 Here are some Senior Deputy Prosecutors who later took the bench and were instrumental in improving the criminal justice system. In the forefront is my teaching companion at Seattle U Law School this past Spring - Dean Lum.

Remembering Dennis Nollette and Bastille Day Parties

 

Going through the scraps from the King County Prosecutor’s Office, I came across this program for Dennis Nollette’s annual Bastille Day parties. Do you remember Dennis? Do you remember Bastille Day parties (we were all targets for Dennis's wit)? What are your memories? What a guy! What Bastille Day parties! 

Dennis died March 20, 2020) after a career with Sony, acting, directing and more. Here is his full obituary:

The lives of family, friends, and fans of Dennis Robert Nollette turned less bright and less interesting when he died unexpectedly on March 30, 2020. He was brilliant in mind and spirit, talented, warm, kind, funny, generous, interesting, and a gift to all of us. Those who enjoyed the privilege of knowing Dennis will never forget him. Dennis was born to Lewis and Catherine (Petrusich) Nollette on July 2, 1951. He lived in Portland, Oregon before moving to Seattle in 1966. At Blanchet High School, his talent and passion for performance blossomed in the chorus and spring musicals. Being intellectually hungry, Dennis completed the intensive two-year Seattle University Honors program before transferring to and graduating from the University of Washington. His cross-country trip to attend Georgetown University Law Center marked the beginning of his successful mission to drive through, or at least into, all 48 contiguous states in his 1959 Studebaker Lark, Gertie, a gift from his grandmother. In 1973, he helped found The Georgetown Gilbert & Sullivan Society ("America's only theater group with its own law school.") As a summer intern, he worked for King County Executive John Spellman. After graduation from law school, Dennis began serving in the Criminal Division of the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. His trial skills were evident early on, and later he was promoted to Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney. He was a highly regarded trial lawyer who handled many complex and high-profile cases. Media attention regarding one of those cases resulted in the trial being filmed for the ABC News documentary "The Shooting of Big Man." He also founded Bastille Day Productions to produce parody films showcasing members of the prosecutor's office, which premiered to rave reviews at his annual Bastille Day parties. In 1983 Dennis again demonstrated his uniqueness and daring when he followed a dream and enrolled at USC to earn his MFA in Cinema/ Television. He later worked in the legal departments of Sony Pictures and affiliates from 1988 until 2010. He served as President of Celebration Theatre in Los Angeles, the oldest LGBT theater in the country, where he produced multiple shows, including the award-winning "Pinafore!" After leaving Sony, he continued to live in his West Hollywood condo and to develop his acting talents by taking classes and performing with the Beverly Hills Playhouse. He also produced, directed, and acted in the short film "Nobody's Child" and the web series "Zach and Dennis. "Dennis was preceded in death by his father Lewis, his mother Catherine, and, quite recently, his brother David. He is survived by nephews, Trevor and Stewart Nollette and niece Elyce Nollette. Memorial gatherings will be scheduled when the COVID-19 guidance permits. For those who might want to make a donation in Dennis' memory, suggested recipient includes Celebration Theatre is a 501(c)3 in Los Angeles, CA.