The two guidelines were first exposed by Father Friedrich von Spee in 1631 in his book titled Cautio Criminalis. The first guideline directed that the judiciary was to presume every woman was a witch if she led an evil or improper life. The guideline’s purpose was to preserve the judiciary’s façade of integrity by providing the outward appearance that an accused woman was being indicted for witchcraft on some lawful basis—regardless of whether or not there was any actual evidence to support a claim of witchcraft—as it was considered a judicial disgrace if a woman, once accused was acquitted. The second guideline was created to encompass all women who did not fit into the first guideline, as it dictated that even if a woman led a good and proper life she could still be a witch, as witches can disguise themselves to appear virtuous.

The male judiciary virtually guaranteed themselves an endless supply of judicial work under these guidelines and with it the political power that accompanies financial gain. The benefit to the Catholic Church was financial, as well, as the application of these guidelines to the widows of its deceased priests enabled the church to regain the assets of its deceased priests from the wives now being accused of witchcraft.

Before I begin detailing my Washington experience, let me first identify some of the individuals involved, explain the positions of the judiciary, and the applicable law:

Donald J. Dougherty, Sr. (Don): My husband in 1972. My ex-husband as of July 8, 1983.

Janelle A. Smith-Haff: The author, Jellybean. I retained my married name (Dougherty) at the time of my divorce to simplify my identification as the mother of my children. Because of my Washington experience, in 1989 I changed my last name to “Smith.” In 1997 I married again and became hyphenated. My Wicca friend Shirl nicknamed me Jellybean.

Donald J. Dougherty, Jr. (DJ): The son in my marriage to Don. Born December 21, 1973.

Donielle A. Dougherty (Doni): The daughter in my marriage to Don. Born June 15, 1979.

Carol Hepburn (Hepburn): The Seattle attorney who was working at the law firm of Reaugh, Fischnaller & Oettinger when hired by Don in 1987 to petition for custody of DJ and Doni. She has since joined with others to create the law firm in Seattle known as “Campiche, Hepburn, McCarty & Bianco.” Prior to joining Reaugh, Fischnaller, et al., Hepburn worked as a prosecutor in the King County Prosecutor’s Office in Seattle, Washington.

Det. Stan Chapin (Det. Chapin): A detective with the King County Department of Public Safety, (KCDPS), the sheriff department for King County in Washington State.

Michael T. DiJulio (DiJulio): A prosecutor in the King County Prosecutor’s Office and a former co-worker of Don’s attorney, Carol Hepburn.

Dr. David Smith (Smith): At the time of the events, Smith was a mental health professional under contract with the Port of Seattle Police Department (where Don was employed as a police officer) providing mental health services to its officers.