Washington judicial news

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News about or affecting the judiciary in Washington.


Gonzaga law professor confirmed to the federal bench

Spokane, Washington: The United States Senate confirmed Gonzaga Law Professor Rosanna Peterson to a vacant judgeship in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.

Peterson was confirmed by the Senate on unanimous consent. She is the first woman to ever serve as a federal judge in Washington State.

U.S. Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell from Washington State recommended Peterson to the President for the nomination. Peterson underwent a confirmation hearing and approval to the Senate floor from the Senate Judiciary Committee prior to her approval from the Senate as a whole. [1]

  1. ↑ Seattle Post-Intelligencer "Peterson confirmed for EWash fed bench", January 25, 2010

Ekstrom seeks Benton County District Court judgeship

Kennewick, Washington: Federal prosecutor Alex Ekstrom will begin his campaign for Benton County District Court judge on January 20, 2010. Judge Holly Hollenbeck plans to retire from this court at the end of 2010.[1]

  1. ↑ Tri-City Herald.com, "Federal prosecutor seeking judgeship in Benton County District Court", January 19, 2010

Chief Justice sworn in on Washington Supreme Court

Washington: Barbara Madsen was sworn in on January 11, 2010 as the chief justice of the Washington Supreme Court. Madsen is up for re-election this year, and if re-elected, will serve the remaining three years of former chief justice Gerry Alexander's term as chief. [1] She was unanimously voted in as chief justice by her colleagues on the court in November of 2009. [2][3]

Madsen is the second woman to serve as chief justice of the Washington Supreme Court. The first was Barbara Durham, who served beginning in 1995. [4]

  1. ↑ Associated Press "New chief justice of Wash. Supreme Court sworn in", January 11, 2010
  2. ↑ Washington Courts Press Release "Washington Supreme Court Elects New Chief Justice", November 5, 2009
  3. ↑ Associated Press "Madsen chosen chief justice of Wash. Supreme Court", November 5, 2009
  4. ↑ The Olympian "New chief justice speaks for equal access to courts", January 12, 2010



Barbara Madsen will be State of Washington's new Chief Justice

Justice Barbara Madsen
OLYMPIA, Washington: Barbara Madsen has been chosen by her peers on the Washington State Supreme Court as its next Chief Justice. She will begin her term as chief justice of the state's highest court on January 11, 2010.[1]

Justice Madsen was first elected to the Washington State Supreme Court in 1992. She was re-elected in 1998, and re-elected again for a third term on September 14, 2004.[2] Her term expires in 2010.

  1. ↑ Washington Secretary of State's press release service, "Barbara Madsen will lead Supreme Court", November 6, 2009
  2. ↑ Justice Madsen Bio from Washington Courts website

Washington Supremes say judicial records not public

OLYMPIA, Washington: On October 15, the Washington State Supreme Court released its decision in City of Federal Way v. Koenig.

In the 7-2 decision, the court holds that Washington's Public Disclosure Act does not apply to the state's judicial records. [1]

The decision was written by Susan Owens. She was joined by Charles Johnson, Mary Fairhurst, James Johnson, Tom Chambers and Justice Pro Tem Joel Penoyar, with Kevin Korsmo concurring. Debra L. Stephens wrote a dissent, and was joined in her dissent by Chief Justice Gerry Alexander.

  1. ↑ The Olympian, "State Supreme Court: judiciary's documents are not public records", October 15, 2009

Five-way race for Snohomish County Superior Court

Washington: A seat is open on the Snohomish County Superior Court due to the retirement and subsequent death of James Allendoerfer in 2009. Five candidates will appear on the November 3, 2009 ballot:

Of the candidates, only Hulbert has prior judicial experience. The other four work as attorneys or in the Prosecutor’s Office. [1] Watch 2009 contested judicial election results for election results.

  1. ↑ Herald Net "Endorsement/Snohomish County Superior Court Judge", October 11, 2009

Law professor nominated for federal judgeship

Washington: Assistant law professor at the Gonzaga University School of Law Rosanna Peterson has been nominated by President Obama for a lifetime seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. If confirmed by the Senate, Peterson would be the first woman to serve the court. She is nominated for the seat vacated when Frederick Van Sickle assumed senior status. [1][2]

Peterson received her undergraduate degree from the University of North Dakota in 1977. She received an M.A. from the University of North Dakota in 1983, and her J.D. from the University of North Dakota Law School in 1991. [3][4]

After law school Peterson served as a law clerk for Frederick Van Sickle in the Eastern District of Washington. Following her clerkship, Peterson went into private practice with various firms in Spokane, WA. She practiced in the fields of general litigation, employment and education law, and criminal defense. Peterson joined the faculty of Gonzaga University School of Law in 1999, where she teaches Evidence, Federal Jurisdiction, and Trial Advocacy. Peterson became the director of the School of Law’s Externship Program in 2002. [4]

  1. ↑ White House Press Release "Nominations sent to the Senate: October 13, 2009
  2. ↑ Spokesman Review "Professor nominated for U.S. District Court", October 14, 2009
  3. ↑ Gonzaga Biography of Rosanna Peterson
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 White House Press Release "President Obama Nominates Rosanna M. Peterson to Serve on the District Court Bench", October 13, 2009

Washington judge rules camera records must be made public

EVERETT, Washington: Snohomish County Superior Court judge David A. Kurtz ruled on Wednesday, September 16 that the Everett School District in Snohomish County is required under the Washington Public Records Act to provide a local teacher's union with the records it requested about how a secret camera was installed in a classroom.

The union requested the records in May 2008 after it learned that the school district had made a decision to install a secret surveillance camera in the classroom of teacher Kay Powers, a Cascade High School teacher. The district believed that Powers was helping students publish an underground student newspaper using school equipment. They determined that she was, and ultimately suspended and fired her. [1]

  1. ↑ Herald Net, "Judge orders Everett School District to share records", September 17, 2009

Superior Court judge dismisses R-71 challenge

Washington: King County Superior Court Judge Julie Spector dismissed a lawsuit against Washington Referendum 71 on Wednesday, September 2, 2009, on the grounds that the lawsuit was filed in the wrong county. The lawsuit specifically calls for an injunction on R-71 and challenges the referendum's valid signature count. According to state law, however, any challenge to the secretary of state must be filed in Thurston County, where the state capitol Olympia is located. [1]

In addition to Judge Spector's dismissal of the case, she highlighted areas of "deficiency" in the signatures and petitions accepted by Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed. [2] Just this week, Reed announced that R-71 had 121,847 valid signatures, enough to place the measure on the November 2009 ballot. [3] On Wednesday, Spector noted, however, that several thousand signatures may in fact be invalid because some petitions do not include the gatherer's signature on the affidavit on the back of the petition as required by law; there may have been misrepresentation of the petition; and although some petition signers registered to vote at the time they signed the petition, they were not registered prior to signing as required by law. Despite the questionable status of the petitions and the dismissal of the case, Spector said, "under Washington case law it is unclear whether there are any limits to the Secretary of State's discretion as long as he has chosen to accept petitions rather than reject them." [2]

  1. ↑ Associated Press,"Washington judge rejects challenge to R-71," September 2, 2009
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Seattle Post-Intelligencer,"Judge recognized alleged fraud by anti equality activists Protect Marriage Washington," September 2, 2009
  3. ↑ Washington Secretary of State's blog,"R-71: Signature-count edges to finish line," September 1, 2009

New chief judge appointed for the Eastern District of Washington

Washington: Federal judge Lonny Suko has been appointed the new chief judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. He is taking the reins from Robert Whaley who assumed senior status on July 12, 2009.

Judge Suko has been with the court since his 2003 appointment from George W. Bush. Prior to his appointment to the Eastern District of Washington he served as a federal magistrate judge for the court, and prior to that he was in private practice as an attorney. [1]

  1. ↑ Tri City Herald "E. Washington native named chief judge" July 21, 2009

The Colombian Endorsements for Supreme Court

(7/21/08)
All three incumbents have served admirably and warrant re-election. They are Mary Fairhurst, Charles Johnson and Debra Stephens. Technically, “re-elect” does not apply in Stephens’ case. She was appointed to the court by Gov. Chris Gregoire in December 2007, and we recommend that voters retain her on the court. This will be easy because she is unopposed and, unlike in local judicial races, state Supreme Court offices will appear on the primary ballot irrespective of the number of candidates filing. Fairhurst and Johnson are solid, respected and experienced judges whose qualifications and expertise easily distance them from their challengers. We note with great satisfaction the absence in this year’s state Supreme Court elections of attack ads unleashed by big-bucks special-interest groups, as occurred in 2006.

References
The Washington Project on Judgepedia
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