A Pierce County Council committee Monday removed proposed changes for appointing a new District Court judge that would have given a strong say to County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist.
Facing an uproar from District Court judges, the county bar association and other groups, the council’s Rules and Operations Committee voted 3-0 Monday to strike down the proposed revisions. They would have eliminated all outside input from the legal community by replacing the current ad-hoc committee with five county employees – including the prosecutor.
Council vice chairman Rick Talbert, D-Tacoma, proposed eliminating the changes because of the concerns that were raised. The council committee then forwarded the ordinance to the full council for a decision Nov. 6. The seven-member council could still make changes at that time.
For the first time since 2003, the council is due to appoint a District Court judge; the positions are typically elected. The council must fill the seat being vacated by Judge Jack Nevin, who’s moving to Superior Court in January.
“I’m elated,” presiding District Court Judge Pat O’Malley after the vote Monday. But he urged caution that the controversy won’t be fully resolved until the council makes a final decision next month.
The public and the legal community have made it clear “that they want an impartial, transparent process,” O’Malley said. “So do I.”
O’Malley, citing a letter signed by all eight District Court judges, told the council committee that the original proposal “appears on its face to be biased.” He also said it “creates an inherent conflict of interest concerning any candidate employed by either the prosecutor or the Department of Assigned Counsel.”
O’Malley was among several lawyers and other community members who spoke out Monday against the changes.
The revisions would have removed two representatives from the Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association and one member from the Pierce County Minority Bar Association from the judicial committee.
Former County Council member Harold Moss read a letter from Tacoma Pierce County Black Collective and six other ethnic minority organizations opposing the changes. The letter voiced concern that minorities would not be represented in the proposed new system and urged maintaining the current process.
When asked to respond to the committee’s action Monday, Lindquist said: “The prosecutor’s office is in the unique position of representing the public – we’re the people’s lawyer – and our only goal is to see that there is a fair process in place for the good of the community. No matter who ultimately sits on the committee, the important thing is that the public interest be well served.”
Dawn Farina, chief of staff for the prosecutor’s office, spoke in support of Talbert’s amendment.
“In the prosecutor’s office, we know the council is committed to a process that will result in the selection of a hardworking judge that will serve our public well,” Farina said. “As prosecutors, we represent the public, and our goal is to see that the community gets a judge that is committed to fairness and justice.”
Council chairwoman Joyce McDonald, R-Puyallup, said that when she introduced the proposal earlier this month, the committee’s membership hadn’t yet been set up.
“Today we’ve had the opportunity to undo any damage that you might think has been done,” McDonald told the crowd that filled the council chambers Monday. “I am in favor at this point clearly of the old process that was there.”
The system adopted in 2003 will remain in place unless the full council makes revisions Nov. 6. Under the current system, council members appoint a judge based on the evaluations of a committee of six members:
• Two representatives from the Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association.
• One representative from the Pierce County Minority Bar Association.
• A representative from the state administrator of the courts.
• The District Court’s presiding judge.
• The County Council’s lawyer.
The County Council proposed revisions that consisted of a five-member panel:
• The county prosecutor.
• The county’s chief public defender (director of the Department of Assigned Counsel).
• The director of the Crystal Judson Family Justice Center (a city-county agency dedicated to providing services to victims of domestic violence).
• The District Court’s presiding judge.
• The County Council’s lawyer.
McDonald proposed an amendment that would have replaced the spot for the Crystal Judson Family Justice Center with a member of the county bar association. But she removed that amendment – which she said didn’t address her concern for having a minority representative – so Talbert’s amendment could go forward.
steve.maynard@thenewstribune.com
253-597-8647
blog.thenewstribune.com/politics
@TNTstevemaynard
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