Jackie Walsh has practiced law for more than two decades and is a member of the Washington and California State Bar Associations. Jackie focuses on criminal defense and civil personal injury and civil rights cases, in both State and Federal Courts.
In her civil practice, Jackie has successfully represented persons who have suffered catastrophic injuries including traumatic brain injuries. Her zealous representation has resulted in substantial awards, verdicts and/or confidential settlements for her clients.
In her criminal cases, she has represented persons accused of aggravated murder, murder in the first and second degree, manslaughter, “three strikes” cases and other serious felonies. She is deemed qualified for appointment as “lead counsel” in death penalty cases in both State and Federal Courts. As an example of some of her successes, she has convinced state and federal prosecutors to dismiss homicide charges against her clients and she has also obtained an acquittal of a client charged with homicide.
In 2005, the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers honored Jackie with their President’s Award for her distinguished service to the criminal defense bar.
In 2014, she was added as resource counsel to the Federal Death Penalty Resource Counsel Project. The Project monitors all federal death penalty cases and consults with counsel in areas ranging from the Department of Justice authorization process to developing mitigation and working with experts. Resource counsel responsibilities also include: identification and recruitment of qualified defense counsel for possible appointment; development of capital litigation training programs and materials to assist federal defenders and court-appointed private counsel; responding to judicial inquiries concerning appointment of counsel, case budgeting, and the defense function in federal capital cases; responding to Congressional inquiries directed to the federal defender system relating to proposed capital punishment legislation; and maintaining a liaison between the federal public defender system and responsible officials of the Department of Justice regarding the administration of federal death penalty statutes.
Jackie has spoken at national and international conferences about capital punishment, and has been faculty at numerous death penalty training seminars throughout the country and Europe, including: Washington, California, Oregon, Illinois, Nevada, Arizona, Montana, Oklahoma, Texas, Indiana, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Pennsylvania, Louisiana; New Mexico; Missouri; Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Paris, France.
Jackie first represented a client on a homicide charge in the mid-90’s. Her client, a juvenile, was found not guilty (State of Washington v. D.R.) Since then she has continued to represent persons charged with homicide and other serious felonies.
Some of Jackie’s other criminal cases include:
Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3005, Jackie was appointed as learned counsel in a potential capital case in Alaska.
Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3005, she was appointed as learned counsel in a potential capital case in Montana. The case involved a triple homicide and a fifteen count indictment. The defense asserted Mr. Weber’s innocence. In February of 2009, her legal team presented mitigating information to the local United States Attorney for Montana and thereafter to the Capital Crimes Unit in Washington, D.C. In June of 2009, the defense team learned that the Attorney General of the United States declined to authorize the case as capital. In January of 2010, the entire case was dismissed.
In this case capital prosecution in the District of Idaho, Jackie assisted with mitigation interviews for the defense.
Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3005, she was appointed as learned counsel in a potential capital case in North Dakota. In this case, the government declined to authorize the case as capital and her client received a standard range sentence.
Jackie was lead counsel for Mr. Sanchez from April of 2005 until November 29, 2006. The elected prosecutor decided not to seek the death penalty in this double homicide.
She was appointed as lead counsel after the government decided to seek the death penalty. This case involved the shooting death of a police officer. Ultimately, the death penalty was dismissed and the case was resolved with a plea whereby her client was sentenced to a standard range sentence.
In this potential capital prosecution, Jackie was appointed to represent Mr. Stewart. After presenting mitigating circumstances to the elected prosecutor, the state declined to seek the death penalty. The case was resolved with plea negotiations and her client received a standard range sentence.
Jackie was retained as a mitigation specialist on this case capital prosecution in the State of Louisiana and the defense team avoided a death sentence at trial for their client.
The state wrongfully charged Mr. Ngu with Murder in the Second Degree. After conducting defense investigation and presenting evidence to the state, the charges were dismissed.
The state charged her client with Rape in the Second Degree. After an extensive defense investigation, the charges against her client were dismissed.
Jackie and her team helped us on an automobile accident that left our family member with permanent and severe brain injury. It was a hit and run case and happened over a holiday season, and many months gone by without an attorney or proper investigation while we were so consumed with the life and death medical situations, the subsequent trauma and grief and we didn’t know anything about US legal system as we were foreigners.
When we met Jackie, we felt instantly comforted by her genuine, caring and respectful attitude toward our family member and us and knew at heart we could trust her and her ability. As we trusted, Jackie and her team settled the challenging case and secured a funding for the life-long care of our loved one.
In each step of the way, Jackie and her team stood by us and took care of us and fought for the best interest of our loved one whose life is completely altered from the terrible accident. We still grieve for the loss of what the future might have been for our loved one, but the hardship and trauma would have been doubled by the financial burden. Our loved one’s survival and continuing recoveries are simply possible because of the excellent work of Jackie and her team.
The true impact that they made to our loved one and us as a family is the sense of humanity and respect that they shared through the best of their professional work. Jackie and her team’s work is an ample example and inspiration for other attorneys and firms that it is not all about the settlement or winning cases but also about changing people’s lives and be part of the life-changing and challenging journeys where people are hurt, seek justice and struggle to find meanings to heal and move forward.
I and my family are ever grateful that we met Jackie, and Jackie is my life inspiration and I strive to pay forward.
— H.K.J.
Jackie was very detailed and meticulous in managing my case, exhausting all possibilities to get me the best resolution possible. I would gladly trust her again to handle my case in the future.
—G.E.
Jackie is also an adjunct professor at Seattle University School of Law.