A bail reduction hearing that would normally focus on a defendant instead became an unusual inquiry into the conduct of a defense attorney in Island County Superior Court on Tuesday.
Craig Platt, a longtime Coupeville attorney, was appointed to represent John E. Haydak, an Oak Harbor man accused of unlawfully entering his ex-girlfriend’s home and strangling her last year. Platt took over the case from Friday Harbor attorney Lawrence Delay, who had asked to withdraw from representing Haydak; Delay was originally appointed by the county as a conflict attorney.
During the hearing before Judge Christon Skinner, Platt argued that Haydak should be released on his personal recognizance or that his bail should be reduced precipitously.
“Thanks to Mr. Delay, Mr. Haydak is being held in jail illegally,” he said.
In general, a judge needs to hear new information or have a new reason for changing an earlier decision for conditions of a defendant’s release. In this case, Platt took the unconventional approach of pointing to alleged missteps by his client’s former attorney.
Platt did not mince words, but called Delay’s representation of Haydak “the worst legal work by a criminal attorney I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Delay did not attend the hearing and offered no comment when asked by the News-Times.
Platt played audio from an earlier hearing in front of Skinner during which Delay was representing Haydak, who failed to show. Platt continually paused the recording and offered his commentary.
Platt claimed that he went through email and billing records and found that Delay misrepresented whether his client had been adequately informed of the hearing date earlier this year; in fact, Platt alleged that Delay acted like a “nasty prosecutor” and tried to convince the judge to issue a warrant on his own client in order to change the trial date.
“He wasn’t ready for trial,” Platt claimed. “He knows the trial goes away if there’s a warrant. It isn’t brain surgery.”
Platt also wasn’t modest about his abilities as a lawyer.
“He’s getting me for free,” he said of Haydak. “If I was billed for this, it would be a $50,000 retainer.”
At the earlier hearing, Skinner issued a $25,000 bench warrant on Haydak because he failed to appear, which wasn’t the first time. After he was arrested, the judge maintained his bail at the same amount.
Delay filed a motion to withdraw from representing Haydak in October. He wrote that Haydak had repeatedly asked for a different attorney because of a disagreement stemming from Haydak’s insistence that he file requests with the prosecutor that are not consistent with law.
At the Tuesday hearing, Deputy Prosecutor Michael Safstrom said he hadn’t seen Delay’s email so he didn’t know exactly what was said, but he pointed out that Platt’s motion suggested Haydak may have been informed about the earlier hearing date in question.
Safstrom said that both Haydak and Delay missed hearings, which made the case difficult.
“Mr. Platt is correct that Lawrence Delay had a lot of problems appearing for court in this case,” he said.
Skinner said there appeared to be mistakes made in the case.
“I have concerns about the representation that has been afforded to Mr. Haydak,” he said.
Yet Skinner said there was a basis for bail, and he wasn’t going to release Haydak on his personal recognizance. He lowered bail to $5,000.
According to court records, Haydak is accused of letting himself into his ex-girlfriend’s home without permission, strangling her, putting a pillow over her face, called her sexist names and holding her down on the bed.
The prosecution’s pre-trial motion states that Haydak had earlier accused the woman of assaulting him, which he later recanted, but then he obtained a no-contact order against her. The motions states that Haydak used the order to contact the woman with impunity since she was afraid of calling the cops on him and being arrested for violating the order.
“What the Island County District Court intended as a shield for a purported victim of domestic violence, Haydak used as a sword,” Safstrom wrote in the motion.
