Felon's lawsuit win seized to pay court fines

Washington prison inmate Gregory Phillips's winnings from a successful Public Records Act lawsuit will go towards paying a long-overdue criminal fine, according to Wahkiakum County Prosecutor Dan Bigelow.

Phillips's judgment of $3,336 negotiated against the city of Kelso after officials there failed to respond to his public-records request for information about the police officers who arrested him, was reported in the March 8 edition of the Longview Daily News.

Diana Plampin, administrator of the Wahkiakum County District Court, read the article and recognized Phillips's name; he had been convicted of a DUI and driving while suspended in the first degree (as a habitual offender) on June 23, 2004. After a dismal payment record on his non-interest-bearing financial obligation of $5095.60, Phillips still owed the court $4910.60 in fines, fees and costs. So Plampin made a Public Records Act request to Kelso for information regarding the settlement.

Plampin gave the information on Phillips's windfall to Bigelow who immediately commenced proceedings to seize the bank account into which the money was deposited.

"The Public Records Act doesn't allow disclosure of account numbers, but to garnish a bank account, all you need to know is the location of the bank that holds the account," Bigelow said. "After statutory deductions to our collection amount, Phillips got to keep $40.03 of his judgment from Kelso.

I hope this doesn't sour Mr. Phillips on public records lawsuits; he still owes Wahkiakum County more than $1,000."

Bigelow thinks the payment on Phillips's old fine is the shape of things to come.

"Prisoners have made a cottage industry out of Public Record Act requests, and most of them owe fines all over the state," Bigelow said. "From now on, when I hear of a windfall by someone I've prosecuted, I'm going to let my fellow prosecutors know and I hope they'll do the same for me."

Bigelow also plans to contact state representatives to talk about drafting legislation requiring that criminal fines and restitution be automatically deducted from court judgments.

"Kelso had to pay what it owed to Gregory Phillips," Bigelow said. "And Gregory Phillips has to pay what he owes too. It's only fair."