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Michael Withey is a Seattle-based public interest lawyer who has made a career representing the “little guy” against powerful interests to protect constitutional rights, civil rights, and human rights for the past 42 years. He was a very close friend of the slain men, and dropped out of law practice for 2 and ½ years to pursue justice in their case, while wearing a bullet proof vest recommended by the police.
Michael has taken on Ferdinand Marcos, Boeing, Exxon, General Motors, the Seattle Police Department (SPD), and a host of other powerful opponents who harmed people that the perpetrators’ thought couldn’t fight back. He is the former president of the Public Justice Foundation and received numerous prestigious awards. But his most important accomplishment yet has been his successful trial of Ferdinand Marcos, the former dictator of the Philippines, for his involvement in the murder of two Filipino-American activists, Silme Domingo and Gene Viernes.
Michael and his Committee for Justice for Domingo and Viernes legal team celebrated an unprecedented victory in his case against the Marcos regime, winning a $15.1 million federal court jury verdict and then negotiating a $3 million settlement on behalf of the Estates of Domingo and Viernes. Former King County Superior Court Judge Michael J. Fox said that Withey “is one of the lawyers who is not afraid of getting into a long, difficult battle with powerful adversaries, whoever they might be” and later wrote, “Michael Withey, the attorney who led the investigation and successful prosecution of this amazing case, is the one person in the world best situated to tell this story.”
Michael is writing The Domingo and Viernes Story in an effort to continue the justice efforts and ensure that all parties responsible for the deaths of these two activists are known, including US intelligence agencies. As famed Seattle Civil Rights Attorney Lembhard Howell said of Michael: “Let me tell you something about Mike Withey: He doesn’t color between the lines!”
What moves Michael to write this book is the inspiration he draws from Silme Domingo when, with four .45 caliber bullet holes puncturing his chest, he chased the hit men out of the union hall. Bleeding profusely, he then he hailed down a fireman and gave him the names of the hit men. By writing this book, he honors his friend Silme’s dying wish: “Don’t let them get away with this!” He has dedicated his life to this quest for justice.
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