Studiously reading court files with his spectacles perched on the bridge of his nose, pretrial release officer Kirk Pressey has been a fixture in Clark County courtrooms for three decades.
When prosecutors and defense attorneys squabbled over whether a defendant should remain in jail pending prosecution, judges turned to Pressey for advice.
“He was respected by everybody,” said Superior Court Judge Barbara Johnson. “You looked around the courtroom, and everyone was nodding.”
Pressey, 64, retired from his position Friday.
As a pretrial release officer, Pressey often started work at 6 a.m., screening defendants who had just been arrested on suspicion of crimes and determining whether they would be good candidates for supervised release pending trial. He and other members of his unit screen about 2,000 defendants per year.
Over his 30-year career, he got to know repeat offenders and their families. His colleagues said he seemed to have a photographic memory.
“He has the institutional memory, and there’s no way they can replace one of him,” said defense attorney Maggie Smith Evansen. “He did it all, so he can remember people from five years back. He’s like a computer.”
Pressey said he was always mindful of the impact his decisions had on individuals and his families.
“I don’t take the job lightly, because it is something that affects lives,” he said. “I always question myself. Am I doing the right thing? I collect as much information as I possibly can to make sure I’m making the right decision.”
That came through to those who worked with him.
“With Kirk, you knew you were going to get a fair assessment,” said Gerry Wear, a defense attorney since 1976. “He was cautious, but he was not unfair. He didn’t assume that because there was an arrest there was guilt. He tempered some positions not only of prosecutors but some that judges took. I have nothing but respect for him. We’ll miss him.”
Johnson said when an issue came up in court, Pressey would be willing to help even if he’d already gone home.
“He was always willing to go the extra mile,” she said.
Not everyone appreciated Pressey’s work. Over the years, he said, he’s received threats and had his vehicle vandalized as a result of his work.
While known for his integrity and objectivity, Pressey has long been fascinated with the dark side of human nature. His fascination began during his childhood in Seattle and teen years in Portland when he was drawn to shows such as “Dragnet” and “Divorce Court.”
“I just always had an interest in human behavior and psychology and an interest in some deviant behavior,” he said. “My parents kind of discouraged it like it was a disease I might catch. It fascinated me, the adrenaline rush and the innate curiosity.”
He earned a bachelor’s degree in general studies and a second degree in administration of justice from Portland State University.
He joined the county in 1984 as a pretrial release officer after working in different roles Multnomah County, including as a release officer. Before that, he worked as a fisheries patrol officer and a psychiatry technician.
After retirement, Pressey said he plans to spend more time on his fishing hobby and will probably reel in some of his courthouse friends to come along. He also has some land in Colorado he’ll spend time managing.
The county plans to replace Pressey with a team of three release officers, Kirk Wait-Molyneux, Tim Stearns and Wendy Humphries.
Pressey said he may return to the courthouse to fill in now and then for other release officers.
“I told everyone that if you see me here, it won’t be a ghost,” he quipped.
“My heart really is here,” he said of the courthouse. “This is part of my life. It’s just part of who I am. Retiring was obviously one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever made.”
