LexisNexis Practice Guide: Washington Criminal Law

Linda S. Portnoy (Co-Author) graduated Northwestern University in 1975 with a BA, with honors in philosophy. She received an MA in philosophy in 1977 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a JD in 1983 from the University of Washington. Ms. Portnoy worked at the Seattle-King County Public Defender Association as an attorney from 1983-1990. She is the author of Washington Criminal Practice in Courts of Limited Jurisdiction (Lexis). She is the author of Driving under the Influence (DUI) Benchbook, a Washington judicial resource. Ms. Portnoy serves as faculty for the Washington State Judicial College, teaching impaired driving and meditation and stress reduction for judges. She is an adjunct faculty member at Seattle University School of Law since 2008, where she teaches a course in criminal pretrial motions. In 2015, she received the Adjunct Faculty of Year Award from Seattle University School of Law. Linda Portnoy has served as the presiding judge of Lake Forest Park Municipal Court, Washington, since 1998.

Lisa M. Leone (Original Co-Author)graduated from Seattle University School of Law magna cum laude in 1995. She began her legal career as a public defender at Northwest Defenders Association in Seattle. In 2003, she entered private practice, representing clients charged with serious felony offenses. In 2007, Ms. Leone was appointed to the bench in Seattle Municipal Court where she served as a Magistrate Judge for eight years. During her tenure, Ms. Leone co-founded the Seattle Youth Traffic Court. She also served as an adjunct faculty member at Seattle University School of Law from 2008 -- 2012, teaching criminal advocacy. In 2015, Ms. Leone was appointed to serve as the presiding judge in the municipal court for the city of Des Moines, Washington.

Deborah Ahrens is a tenured Professor who teaches and writes about criminal law, criminal procedure, and evidence. Before joining the faculty at Seattle University, Professor Ahrens served as a law clerk for Judge Amalya Kearse of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, a legal fellow at the ACLU's Drug Policy Litigation Project, an Assistant Public Defender at the Richland County (South Carolina) Public Defender, and a Visiting Assistant Professor of Law at the University of South Carolina School of Law. She earned an AB in Public Policy from Brown University, a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, and her JD Magna Cum Laude from New York University, where she was the senior articles editor of the Law Review.
Professor Ahrens' scholarship focuses on the cultural significance of contemporary policing practices and criminal sanctioning regimes, with particular emphasis on drug policy, on the regulation of student speech and conduct, and on the reforms necessary to ameliorate the consequences of our failed experiment with mass incarceration and a hyper-punitive war on drugs. Her articles have appeared in a variety of journals including the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, the American Criminal Law Review, the Florida State Law Review, and the Missouri Law Review. She is a sought-after media commentator on questions related to criminal law and criminal justice policy and a frequent speaker at academic and professional events on a wide variety of criminal procedure, evidence, and sentencing issues.
Professor Ahrens is an innovative and highly regarded teacher and is frequently honored by graduating students for her teaching. She is also a highly engaged member of the local professional community, who serves on the Washington Pattern Jury Instructions Committee, and the Executive Board of the William L. Dwyer Inn of Court.