By Diane Brooks
Seattle Times staff reporter
from Seattle Times

from http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/134341427_freedom14m.html

MOUNT VERNON, WA - Sept. 14, 2001 — A Skagit County judge yesterday handed the beleaguered "Freedom County" movement a backhanded victory, refusing to validate the would-be county's existence but acknowledging that its legal issues should be studied by a higher court.

"I know this issue is going to go up further, and that's where it ought to go," said Superior Court Judge Michael Rickert.

Both the state and Snohomish County, which would lose its northern half if Freedom County becomes real, unsuccessfully sought punitive damages against the movement's leaders. They alleged that the latest lawsuit covered legal issues already addressed by other state and local courts, so they wanted Freedom County leaders to pay the state's and county's court and attorney fees.

Rickert disagreed. "I would have a hard time finding sanctions against a group of citizens that are trying to (improve) their government in an orderly and valid fashion," he said.

Movement leaders claim Freedom County has existed since 1995, when a group of supporters delivered a batch of petitions to the state Legislature. As far as the state is concerned, the matter was settled in 1998 when the state Supreme Court ruled in a case involving the Cedar County movement in King County.

Until then, new-county proponents all over Washington thought the state constitution required the Legislature to create a new county if petitions were signed by half the number of people who had voted the previous November. That's how the state's newest three counties — Chelan, Benton and Pend Oreille — were formed between 1899 and 1911.

But the Supreme Court's 1998 ruling redefined the word "voter" to mean new-county petitions must be signed by a majority of the area's registered voters. And even if that happens, the court said, the Legislature may legally ignore the petitions.

The language in the constitution indicates that the Legislature was expected to craft laws detailing the rules for creating new counties. That never happened, and the Legislature recently has repeatedly quashed bills that would allow new-county proposals on local ballots.

Rickert said he wasn't sure whether the Legislature's failure to act was intentional "or whether, like how they deal with transportation, they just don't care."

Freedom County leaders already have chosen a three-member commission, sheriff and other officials. Yesterday, the three commissioners sat in the jury box while lawyers argued their case in front of about 40 supporters.

The commissioners later praised Rickert for taking them seriously. "It was a night-and-day difference" from their other courtroom experiences, said David Peter Guadelupe.

The ruling "precludes us from going out and setting up a government, but we're finally going to get a hearing," said Thom Satterlee, another commissioner. "My guess is the (state) Supreme Court is going to want to hear it."

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