Port Orchard attorney sentenced to 15 days in jail for lying

A Port Orchard attorney who tried to withdraw a guilty plea in a case in which he filed court documents he knew contained lies was resentenced Thursday to 15 days in jail but might be eligible for electronic home monitoring.

Dennis X. Goss, 62, had pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor accomplice to false swearing in 2014.

He initially was charged with two counts of felony perjury, but the charges were downgraded after a deal with prosecutors.

Goss has been accused of making sexual overtures to a client’s wife and later filed paperwork with the court denying he acted inappropriately.

Last month, he asked Pierce County Superior Court Judge Jack Nevin to allow him to withdraw the guilty plea. Goss claimed prosecutors had withheld evidence at the time of the plea deal.

Nevin denied the request and also found that, by trying to withdraw the guilty plea, Goss breached the deal with prosecutors and was subject to resentencing.

Initially, Nevin had not given Goss any jail time but Thursday gave him 15 days — prosecutors asked for 30, according to court documents.

Nevin said Goss could be screened for jail alternatives. If he is found by the jail to not be eligible for alternatives to incarceration, he is to report to the jail June 13, said Chief Deputy Prosecutor Chad Enright.

The Kitsap County Jail has an electronic home-monitoring program, which fits inmates with a ankle bracelet and requires them to stay at home.

Those convicted of violent crimes or with histories of sex offenses are ineligible, as well as those who fail a drug and alcohol test while being screened, said sheriff’s deputy Scott Wilson, a spokesman for the office.

Enright said he expects Goss will be approved for home monitoring and said the 15-day sentence was fair.

He could face sanctions from the state bar association. A disciplinary hearing scheduled for earlier this month was called off and as of last month had not been rescheduled.

This story was originally published May 13, 2016 at 2:15 PM with the headline "Port Orchard attorney sentenced to 15 days in jail for lying."