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Man Who Firebombed Lawyers' Cars Tests Public Records Laws

By Molly McDonough

February 1, 2008, 7:04 pm CST

A Seattle prosecutor is taking action to curtail the public records requests of an imprisoned arsonist who’s been busy compiling information on the judges and lawyers who helped put him behind bars.

The man, Allan Parmelee, in in jail because he firebombed the cars of two lawyers, one of them the lawyer for his ex-wife, the Associated Press reports.

King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg has asked a judge to allow him to ignore pending records requests and to bar Parmelee from filing any more.

“I am a proponent of open government, and I am very familiar with the Public Records Act and its underlying philosophy,” Satterberg wrote in a declaration. “I do not bring this petition lightly. However … Allan Parmelee has a long history of using the Public Records Act to try and intimidate and harass my deputies and other criminal justice system employees.”

Superior Court Judge Glenna Hall heard arguments Tuesday and is giving Parmelee another two weeks to submit more documents.

The AP reports that Parmelee has sought thousands of records, which include addresses, photos and pay details for thousands of Washington State Patrol troopers and everyone in the prosecutor’s office, including the three prosecutors who handled his cases.

Seattle open government lawyer Michele Earl-Hubbard is quoted saying that prosecutors have other options besides barring someone from exercising his rights under the state’s Public Records Act, including prosecuting Parmelee for harassment or stalking.

Parmelee reportedly told one lawyer he might send an associate to his house. In another communication, Parmelee reportedly referenced the firebombing and told the lawyer she was acting “so unprofessionally [as] to invite some similar response.”