He spent over a month in Whatcom Co. jail without counsel. Now he wants his charges dropped
A Bellingham man who was detained in Whatcom County Jail without access to an attorney for over a month brought his case before a judge Tuesday to argue for his charges to be dropped.
Richard Kirkham, 48, has been in jail since Sept. 28, 2023. He faces more than 50 felony charges across eight open cases, the majority of which are related to domestic violence and no-contact order violations.
Kirkham and his current attorney, Adrian Madrone, filed a motion Jan. 9 to dismiss the charges, alleging a violation of Kirkham’s legal rights to conflict-free counsel, due process and a speedy trial.
According to the motion filed for dismissal of the cases, Kirkham was communicating with two people outside of jail who were helping him find a private attorney. However, the court ordered that Kirkham’s phone, messaging and visitation access be restricted about one month after he was arrested.
Kirkham told the public defender’s office that he had an issue with his assigned lawyer on Oct. 27, 2023 — one day after the ban was put in place. He was told by the office that they would no longer be representing him due to a “severe shortage” of conflict counsel in the county.
Judge Evan Jones, who heard oral arguments Tuesday, previously appointed two subsequent attorneys from the bench, both of whom withdrew from the case. Kirkham then requested his phone privileges be reinstated so that he could find another attorney, according to court records.
He brought this request to Judge David Freeman on Nov. 22, 2023, according to the motion to dismiss, but Freeman was asked by the state to let Jones handle the issue. Freeman called the situation “very concerning” and told Jones to review the restrictions, but did not lift them.
The privileges were eventually given back on Dec. 6, 2023, with the stipulation that Kirkham could only call “verified attorneys.” However, Kirkham did not have the phone numbers of any attorneys, according to court records, and the jail said it did not provide phone books.
He wrote to the court to request the restrictions be lifted again so that he could retain counsel. Jones did not respond, according to the motion, leaving Kirkham without access to representation for a month and a half.
Madrone opened his argument Tuesday with a request for Jones to recuse himself from the case due to his involvement in it and concerns over fairness. The state disagreed, and Jones decided to proceed with hearing arguments with the understanding that he may decide to recuse himself ahead of the April trial.
Madrone said Kirkham’s experience was “connected to a much wider problem” and had “significant implications.”
“Access to counsel is an issue of Constitutional magnitude,” Madrone said.
Prosecuting attorney Sophia Padgett acknowledged that Kirkham spent time without counsel but said the state made a “good faith effort” to find him a qualified attorney. She said the standards for finding representation in this case were also higher because Kirkham faces life in prison due to Washington’s “three strikes” law.
Kirkham disagreed, saying in a statement to the Bellingham Herald that the court “was well aware of the delays it would cause in (his) case when it decided to detain (him) without appointing counsel.
“In America, we do not lock people up without immediately providing them with counsel,” Kirkham said.
About 30 people attended Tuesday’s hearing in a show of support for Kirkham. Megan McAllister, a former Western Washington University student and an organizer with the Whatcom Pen-pal Program, said she gathered the group to provide a sense of accountability for Judge Jones.
Kirkham and McAllister are pen pals, and they have known each other for over a year now.
“To the court, it is their day job,” McAllister said. “To the people they are presiding over, it is their entire lives and freedoms being restricted.”
This story was originally published February 1, 2025 at 5:00 AM.