Mura to retire after 20 years as Whatcom Superior Court judge

Steven Mura ran for Whatcom County Superior Court judge partly out of his belief in duty to community and country.

But that duty wasn't always easy for the West Point graduate. Mura presided over some disturbing cases, including that of Wayne Burkins, who in 1994 raped and murdered one woman and then raped and terrorized another woman.

In his 20 years on the bench, it is the worst assault he's ever handled.

"The evil that you see is, at times, very taxing, emotionally trying," said Mura, who practiced law for the military and his private practice before successfully running for Superior Court judge in 1992. "When you deal with tragedy for almost four decades, you want to listen to the birds sing."

Instead of seeking re-election this year, Mura, 62, has decided to retire. He found his job as a judge fulfilling - though he jokes he likes it because, unlike practicing law, he never loses a case - but he wants to retire while his health is still good so he can fly his plane around the country visiting old Army buddies and spend more time at his family's off-the-grid cabin in the forest off South Pass Road.

TOUGHEST CASES

Most criminal cases simply involve people doing dumb things. But not all.

In the 1994 case, Mura imposed an exceptionally long sentence because he found aggravating factors, including that Burkins showed no remorse, acted with deliberate cruelty and made a victim more vulnerable by giving her marijuana.

The 90-year sentence held up on appeal. Standard sentence ranges for the crimes topped out at just over 36 years.

"That was the toughest sentence I've ever given out," Mura said. "I never wanted that man to be walking free again."

His most frustrating case was very different: a dispute over San Juan County's 1996 law banning personal watercraft.

Mura that year ruled the law unconstitutional under the state constitution, determining that because the state licensed the watercraft local governments could regulate but not ban them. The state Supreme Court in 1998 overturned his decision, making San Juan County the first local government in the country to successfully ban them.

Mura said he still doesn't understand the ruling. He doesn't like Jet Skis and similar craft either, but if you start telling other people how to live, he noted, pretty soon they'll be telling you how to live.

'INDEPENDENT THINKER'

To understand Mura, start with knowing he's a 1971 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, said attorney Frank Chmelik, his former law partner. That was after graduating from Bellingham High School in 1967.

"Certainly he always had that string running through him of being a person that valued and understood his duty to his community and his country," Chmelik said.

As law partners, Mura and Chmelik were sometimes faced with negotiating issues between them. Instead, Chmelik would hand the decision to Mura but ask to be treated fairly, Chmelik said.

"He'd jokingly say, 'You're using my honor against me,'' Chmelik said.

Mura sometimes makes things difficult for himself because he refuses to associate with people who aren't honorable. He won't overlook dishonor or lying, while some other people are more flexible. That can wrongly make him seem judgmental, said Chmelik, who worked with Mura as a lawyer at Fort Lewis.

Attorney Deborra Garrett, who lost to Mura in the 1992 election and has argued cases in front of him, described him as "an independent thinker."

"I can't even picture, frankly, Judge Mura hearing someone lay out their view on an issue or the law and simply adopting that view," said Garrett, president of the Whatcom County Bar Association. If he did, it wasn't because it was the easier course.

He also presided during a time of change.

"The court has new challenges, including the problem of shrinking funds and hugely expanding caseloads," she said, adding he's provided good ideas for how to manage the challenges.

DIVORCE MEDIATION

Mura's proudest accomplishment as Superior Court judge didn't involve trying a case with a heinous crime or deciding the constitutionality of a local law. He changed the divorce process.

When he first took office, Superior Court had what the judge called the "whiner calendar." On Friday mornings, current or former spouses would come to court and argue with each other over often petty issues. At that time, they could go straight from their attorneys' offices to the courtroom. Civil cases languished while the court's time was dominated by criminal and divorce cases, Mura said.

He urged creation of a mandatory mediation process. It took years to persuade the other judges, and many lawyers didn't like it.

"Lawyers are pretty famous for not wanting change," Mura said. "I told everyone we can try something new and if it doesn't work we can go back to the way we were doing things."

Among other things, the mediation requires couples with children to attend a five-hour course on how divorces affect children. It also involves mediation with a third party who doesn't work exclusively for either party.

This year, Mura will celebrate his 40th anniversary with his wife, Christine, with whom he has four adult children. He said he regrets divorce rates are so high, noting that "when you see the criminal chains out there, they are almost all from broken homes."

The new divorce process "works marvelously well," he said, and the lion's share of divorce cases are now settled in mediation.

"We really minimized the damage to kids," he said, "and I'm really proud of that."

WHO'S FILED FOR MURA SPOT?

Two people already have filed with the state Public Disclosure Commission so they can begin raising funds for a race for Steven Mura's position: Whatcom County District Court Judge David Grant and Bellingham Municipal Court Commissioner Pete Smiley. Attorney Deborra Garrett, president of the county bar association, said she is "very strongly" considering running.

Official filing of candidacy with the Whatcom County Auditor's Office is still months away, but rumors are circulating of others contemplating runs for the open judge seat.

The term is for four years, and the salary is $148,832 per year. The primary election will be Aug. 7, and the general election will be Nov. 6.

OTHER JUDICIAL RACES

Whatcom County's other Superior Court judges, Ira Uhrig and Chuck Snyder, also are up for re-election this year. They said they weren't ready to announce whether they'll run for re-election; doing so would trigger a state requirement they file candidacy paperwork with the state Public Disclosure Commission.

Uhrig did note that after more than two decades on the bench, he still looks forward to coming to work every day.

Then, he offered a little humor: "More significantly, with five kids at home between 6 and 18 years old, I may have to work well into the next century."