We have been representing clients in criminal defense matters across Washington state for almost 30 years. These include many domestic violence cases. We have also been representing clients in Spokane cases over the course of many years. So why should you retain the Law Office of Mark Knapp PLLC to represent you?
Initial Consultation. A criminal defense lawyer, Mark Knapp, will answer all your phone calls immediately. That means you will be talking to the attorney, not a receptionist. In most non-felony cases , we charge a flat-fee retainer to appear which includes attending the Arraignment and the Pretrial Conferences. If trial preparation becomes necessary, there will also be an additional Trial Retainer. Felonies can be more expensive.
Arraignment. If you retain a criminal defense lawyer before the Arraignment, we can often waive arraignment so that you will not need to attend. If you must go to the Arraignment without representation, you will normally plead not guilty and bail is often discussed. Even if you have already been released on personal recognizance or have already posted bail, you should have counsel when you appear for the Arraignment. There are situations where the judge might order a new bail bond. This situation results from a violation of your terms of release. Examples are getting a new DUI right after you are released from jail on another DUI. Or attempting to contact a victim where there is a No Contact Order.
Our law practice focuses on firearms related issues in Washington state.
We were in Federal Way for 25 years. The Federal Way Mirror asked me to write a column in the local newspaper. The Mirror published the Firearms Lawyer column for four years. The column was about local law enforcement and current legal issues of concern to gun owners.
We also wrote about firearms training and why seeing more of our neighbors trained and carrying guns is a good thing for public safety, families and neighborhoods.
Charged With a Domestic Violence Offense. Things can often get out of control when family members are involved. We are a Spokane area criminal defense firm. If you are ever charged with Domestic Violence, there are a number of issues that usually come into play. When the police arrive, usually because someone called 911, they will separate the witnesses and ask what happened. If the police hear different stories, they will often assume that the woman is lying to keep her husband or boyfriend from getting in trouble.
Right to Remain Silent. The best thing to do is to remain silent. If you or another family member say something that sounds likely that an assault occurred, a threat was made or community property broken, someone is probably going to get booked into jail. If it looks like there is probable cause to believe two people committed domestic violence, the male is usually the one that gets booked.
We have our ATG monthly action shooting event scheduled at the Spokane Rifle & Pistol Cub Mica Range for 10:00 AM-2:00 PM; Saturday, September 29th. If you are interested in helping as an RSO or wish to join us for the shoot, please RSVP. We expect to conduct our monthly ATG Action Shoots at the SVRCP range through November.
SVRPC Mica Range location near Mica, Washington with map:
Take a left on Jons Rd at the top of Belmont and go down the hill. The Action Bays are on the left at the bottom of the hill.
We will charge ATG members and experienced RSOs $5.00 for the shoot. We will charge $10.00 for nonmembers that want to receive some RSO training and/or just experience an enjoyable day shooting with us. Bring your tactical rifles and .22s if you want. We will try to provide opportunity for Close Quarters Combat-style rifle shooting but please have your rifles sighted in ahead of time. Make sure to bring water, chairs, food & possibly a canopy for shade. It may be hot and you can shoot until 2:00 PM if you bring enough ammunition.
Tell your friends about this event and bring the family. We believe in getting the whole family involved as long as the parents are present to supervise. There is no age limit but we are expecting participants that already have knowledge of basic gun safety. We often take time to mentor new shooters. Nevertheless, this event is primarily for recruiting RSOs and planning our monthly ATG Action Shoots in order to make things safe, fun and affordable.
DO NOT VOTE FOR INITIATIVE 1639!!! (see below).
Greetings ATG Members & Friends,
We have an ATG action shoot scheduled at the Spokane Rifle & Pistol Cub Mica Range for 10:00 AM-2:00 PM Saturday, Septemeber 29th. If you are interested in helping as an RSO or wish to join us for the shoot, please RSVP. We expect to conduct our monthly ATG Action Shoots at the SVRCP range through November.
SVRPC Mica Range location near Mica, Washington with map:
Take a left on Jons Rd at the top of Belmont and go down the hill. The Action Bays are on the left at the bottom of the hill.
We will charge ATG members and experienced RSOs $5.00 for the shoot. We will charge $10.00 for nonmembers that want to receive some RSO training and/or just experience an enjoyable day shooting with us. Bring your tactical rifles and .22s if you want. We will try to provide opportunity for Close Quarters Combat-style rifle shooting but please have your rifles sighted in ahead of time. Make sure to bring water, chairs, food & possibly a canopy for shade. It may be hot and you can shoot until 2:00 PM if you bring enough ammunition.
Tell your friends about this event and bring the family. We believe in getting the whole family involved as long as the parents are present to supervise. There is no age limit but we are expecting participants that already have knowledge of basic gun safety. We often take time to mentor new shooters. Nevertheless, this event is primarily for recruiting RSOs and planning our monthly ATG Action Shoots in order to make things safe, fun and affordable.
School Marshals—Training Standards—Certification—Immunity from Liability.
The following discussion includes certain draft proposals that we are proposing as uniform School Marshal legislation for all the states to consider. The language is cast in terms of Washington state but provides a template that can easily be adapted to other states. The advantage of providing training programs that are standardized as much as possible is in the potential growth of state-of-the-art multistate training facilities that will benefit from economies of scale by training and certifying School Marshals from across whole regions.
The following proposal for School Marshals in Washington state is republished from the March 15, 2018 Spokesman Review.
There are once again many heated discussions about how to stop the carnage in our schools. A few years ago, we led a group of trial attorneys through an analysis of what it will take for Washington state school districts to seriously tackle the issue of protecting schools. It is apparent that Parkland School District in Florida will have to pay huge sums for its failure to anticipate mass murder that was very foreseeable.
School Marshals- Not Teachers with guns. Many school boards and legislatures in other states have already embarked on a policy of authorizing armed personnel within school premises. Federal and Washington state law both leave it up to school boards to designate who will be armed in Washington schools. Nevertheless, most educators and school boards flatly reject proposals for arming teachers with guns.
There is reason to believe that some Washington state schools are already taking quiet steps, however. Teachers who choose to undertake the training and responsibility of being a school marshal should not be denied the same opportunity to serve as certified School Marshals that we are proposing for other qualified personnel.
Public Duty Doctrine It should not be a surprise to anyone that such matters are insurance driven. Washington state’s Public Duty Doctrine dictates that a policy decision not to deploy armed protection in the schools exposes school districts to very low levels of liability. That is because it is a pure policy decision and therefore immune from liability for almost any accidents that occur.
RE:OPINION LETTER RELATING TO IMPLEMENTATION OF
LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS’ SAFETY ACT
I. PURPOSE
The following opinion answers questions related to questions raised by the WASPC as to whether a municipal law enforcement agency exposes itself to additional liability by certifying retired law enforcement officers as having met Criminal Justice Training Commission standards for firearms qualification. The purpose of the LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS’ SAFETY ACT OF 2004 (18 U.S.C. Sec. 926B and 926C) is to supplement active law enforcement personnel in order to deter crime and prevent terrorist activity. The federal law accomplishes this by anticipating that additional armed law enforcement personnel that have already been trained will be present within each jurisdiction as officers travel from one jurisdiction to another while on business, vacationing or for any other reason.Continue reading “Implementing the Law Enforcement Officers’ Safety Act”
On December 1st at Cabela’s in Post Falls, Idaho, we had David Howlett open up our thinking to how SIRT laser technology makes force-on-force Reality Based Training simple and effective. We now have a link to Next Level Training at which you can purchase a SIRT pistol with a 10% discount and a commission that supports the Action Training Group. Get the Pro Model with the red & green lasers.
Bob Smith was back. Bob discussed lethal force issues. We received overwhelming feedback regarding both of the excellent speakers that night. Chuck Delgado spoke at our October 20th Action Training Group’s monthly membership meeting along with the criminal defense lawyers from the Gerlach self-defense trial. The defendant, Gail Gerlach, who was acquitted of manslaughter charges at the Spokane County trial, was also present at our meeting.
One of the themes of the meeting was the impact of the news media before, during and after a self-defense shooting trial in which an armed citizen is accused of unjustified or reckless use of force. Gail Gerlach’s criminal defense team, Bob Smith, an expert witness on use of force at the Gerlach trial and defense attorney, Mark Knapp, joined in the discussion with Chuck regarding how Chuck shot and killed an unarmed attacker when he was a Spokane County Sheriff’s Deputy in 1971. Chuck was neither charged nor disciplined because the use of force was justified. Nevertheless, the shooting was contrary to use of force procedures in place in the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office 1971. He is writing a book about the experience. The following is an After Action Report Mr. Delgado shared with us concerning our October 20th meeting of the Action Training Group at Cabela’s last Friday.Continue reading “Criminal Defense Lawyers, Law Enforcement & Use of Force Expert at Cabela’s in Post Falls”
ATG Membership Meeting. Our monthly Membership Meeting will be at Cabela’s this Friday, Oct. 20th, with the main program starting at 6:00 PM. Cabela’s meeting room is back by the Deli. The Deli has good food and will will stay open until 6:00 PM so plan to have dinner with us at Cabela’s. The networking hour will start at 5:00 PM; the Deli closes at 6:00. I just learned that Criminal Defense Lawyer David Stevens will be there at 5:00 PM and he has agreed to provide us with some observations related to the Gerlach manslaughter trial. The trial is the subject for three of our speakers. Defense Lawyer Richard Lee, will talk to us about the trial and media related issues. David Stevens and Mr. Lee were co-counsel for Mr. Gerlach’s criminal defense in the Spokane self-defense shooting trial several years back.Continue reading “Criminal Defense Lawyers Discuss Use of Force”
Gail Gerlach Acquitted of First Degree Manslaughter
Gerlach’s Acquittal Sends Strong Message on self-defense
Criminal defense lawyers in Spokane paid close attention when Gail Gerlach was acquitted of first-degree manslaughter charges. Defense lawyers, Richard Lee and David Stevens, sent a clear message to prosecutors when the Spokane-area resident was acquitted of First Degree Manslaughter for shooting 25 year old Brendon Kaluza-Graham on March 25, 2013. The shot killed Kaluza-Graham who was driving away in Gerlach’s vehicle. Gerlach left the vehicle running while getting ready to take his wife to work. Continue reading “Criminal Defense Team Sends Message to Spokane County”
