Page 8 - Phoenix Vol 11 No 1

ATTORNEY OF THE YEAR
KATHLEEN L.
Securing Justice for the Nation’s Defenders
WIENEKE
WRITTEN BY LESLEY BOYD PHOTOGRAPHED BY ANDREW PAUL
type of education that we need to impart to a jury to ensure they un- derstand the parameters of the job.”
IN DEFENSE OF ROAD DESIGN
In addition to defending the na- tion’s defenders, for over 30 years, Wieneke has also worked closely with governmental agencies to de- fend them against road and tra c design claims.
“It is hard for a layperson to un- derstand the safety considerations that come into play when it comes to balancing choices for a road de- sign versus a cost-bene t analysis,” explained Wieneke. “When one of these cases comes up for negotia- tions or settlements, there is always a need to further educate the jury and/or the parties that make a claim.”
Due to her expertise in arguing and trying these matters, Wieneke has three times secured a position on Arizona Attorney Magazine’s annual list of the top signi cant civil defense verdicts in the state of Arizona: In 2012 for her represen- tation of an o cer in a wrongful death action; in 2015, for her rep- resentation of a governmental en- tity in a road design cable median barrier freeway crossover case; in a road design cable median bar- rier freeway crossover case; and in 2017, for her defense of two o cers in a wrongful detention and exces- sive force case.
In a way, you could say the world gets smaller every day. Via television, radio,
the internet, and social media, the general public is exposed daily, in an instant, to events taking place around the world. So, when a law enforcement incident takes place anywhere in the United States, the media explodes with emotion, based on both factual and inferred information.
If any of these incidents are deemed “inappropriate” by the viewing public,
the government is called upon to defend itself and the actions of its representatives, both in the court of public opinion and the courtroom.
“My job is to defend people who run
toward bullets and burning buildings
when everyone else is running away,” said Kathleen L. Wieneke, founding partner at Wieneke Law Group. “We ask them to go
to work every day and put their lives on the line to protect us, but in today’s climate, we nd that more and more of these brave men and women are being sued for doing exactly what they were trained to do.”
Anationally-recognized trial attorney, Wieneke and her team work tirelessly to rep- resent the nation’s defenders against excessive force claims, including claims of false arrest, wrongful death, o cer-involved shootings and police pursuit. As the daugh- ter of a career military o cer and the wife of a retired Naval O cer it is natural that Wieneke would be drawn to this practice area. She inherently understands service, honor and the sacri ces our rst responders and their families make daily.
Unfortunately, many in the gen- eral public do not. “In 1986, when I rst began working in this particu- lar practice area,” noted Wieneke, “an o cer or a reman could go their entire careers and never get sued. But, today, getting sued is a known part of the job.”
e main di erence is that the public now has a sense that they understand the job because of what they see on television. However, what they learn from CSI does not actually mesh with real life training.
“O cers are taught to quick- ly make decisions to neutral- ize threats,” explained Wieneke. “When they cannot see a subject’s hands, they are unable to deter- mine the extent of the threat and will likely take a center of mass shot based on their training. It is this
ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · PHOENIX· VOL. 11 NO. 1 8