Washington Courts

The witnesses for Morning Star Boys Ranch were, to a person, decent, forthright, and caring. They were people who did their work as care-givers to the young boys at Morning Star over the years in concern and simple dedication. They were people who cooked, cleaned, wrangled the horses, took the boys on outings, tutored them when they came back to the ranch after school and played games with them in the evenings.

Two of these innocents were people who came together in respect and love of one another, came together free of any sort of artificiality, as a result of meeting at the ranch. And, who in innocence began to make a life together. The two we learned about during the trial were Doyle Gillum and Tricia Gillum.

Tricia grew up in Washington in the Anacortes area of Puget Sound. She came to Spokane after high school and worked at a bank on the South Hill. Doyle had grown up in the Omak - Okanagan area just east of the Cascades – an area connected to Canada and surprisingly to Seattle, yet a farming - ranching area. Tricia enjoyed doing volunteer work. When she came to Spokane she began volunteering at Morning Star Boys Ranch after becoming aware of Morning Star at the bank.

Afer work, she went to the to the ranch 2 - 3 times a week to help with dinner, play games with the boys, help them with their homework. Doyle Gillum was there every time she was there. He was on the evening shift. They worked together. She came to know Doyle. They became friends and after she stopped volunteering, they started to go out. She went back to the West Side — “the Coast” we say over here.  Doyle visited her every weekend. Their love grew.

That Christmas she came over to Spokane and she and Doyle went horseback riding at the Ranch. It was then he proposed. And, they were married.

Doyle went into the Air Force. After Doyle’s training, they moved to Omaha, Nebraska. In late 1994 Doyle went bird hunting with a friend, a neighbor. The men were accidentally caught up in a train accident – Doyle was killed.

Tricia gradually put her life together again. She married and now has an 11-year old daughter. She teaches 3rd grade at a Christian school and lives with her husband and daughter in South Carolina where her husband, Michael Schmidt, works for the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

This person, Tricia, is a fine and good person. She loved Doyle Gillum. She was drawn to him because of his goodness, his love for others, his integrity and essential decency. There was nothing but good in Doyle. She knew, she testified. Even the darkest of souls would not have questioned the goodness and truth of Tricia Schmidt.

One wondered how could anyone pursue accusations against Doyle, against the goodness of this man, against what was the goodness of the choice Tricia had made in Doyle.

To those observing there was a strange unreality taking place. One wondered whether the plaintiff and his attorney were just trying to impress a lie on the jury, on the court, on the public mind – to gain what? Money? That could be it, but may be there was something more, it may be that it was an insidious desire to do injury. A desire to presume good people were bad people and to get a jury and a court to join them in what could only be false taking of money from a good institution and to get a jury and a court to indulge in some sort of great lie that decent people were instead – well, instead, – evil people.

Tim Kosnoff, the attorney for the plaintiff, the attorney advancing the absurd claims of his client, tried to besmirch the character of Tricia Schmidt. He tried to suggest there was something odd in Doyle Gillum’s going into the Air force and not seeing her more often than weekends when he was in training across the state from her. He tried to suggest there was something wrong in relocating to Omaha. He tried to raise suspicion as to Doyle’s tragic death.

I sat and listened in amazement to this slick lawyer as he tried to raise doubts. Somehow it seemed to me he must be thinking he could create some negative aspect by asking questions, as if there was something sordid behind the question – that all he had to do was to ask the question and somehow connect it to a public prejudice, connect it to some sort of negative spirits in the minds of the jurors. I shuddered.

There were no public responses to these efforts by Mr. Kosnoff. But, some were watching. Some caught up on what he was doing. Some did not think his conduct was appropriate –

In fact, it was not even appropriate as far as those who would use our judicial system as some sort of personal injury lottery – a lottery where you try to get a jury or a judge to join in plays for money.

This sort of law is the “legal enterprise phenomenon” of plays on “public prejudice.” Kosnoff and Company are masters of the process, it seems. Sad. What is the process of law becoming?

Despite the efforts of Kosnoff and Company, the jury saw the truth, the innocence and good will, of Doyle and Tricia Gillum.