Traffic trouble or misdemeanor in Gig Harbor? Here’s the new judge who may hear the case
Gig Harbor Municipal Court is getting a new judge.
Mayor Kit Kuhn appointed Judge Sandy Allen and the City Council confirmed the appointment unanimously Nov. 22. She starts in January.
Allen has been the part-time Municipal Court judge in Milton since 2006, which she’ll continue, and she also works one day a week in Pierce County District Court, filling in as a pro tem judge.
“It was a good fit for me to take on the position of another part-time municipal court,” Allen told The Gateway.
Asked about what residents can expect from her on the bench, Allen said she works hard to make sure that those before her are heard, that they get an opportunity to address the court and that they understand what she asks of them.
Courts throw a lot of information at defendants at once, she said, and taking time to summarize for someone what’s expected of them going forward is important. Those extra seconds to reiterate that information seem to increase compliance with court orders, she said.
At the council meeting Nov. 22, Kuhn pointed to her knowledge, expertise and the “gentle but firm leadership that she seemed to present.”
Allen told those at the meeting that being a judge has been “one of the most challenging jobs that I’ve ever had, but also the most rewarding.”
She said issues in her courtroom would be “fairly and equitably resolved” and that she would demonstrate “dignity and respect” for those who come before her.
“I can’t wait to get officially started,” she said.
Court administrator Stacy Colberg said she can’t wait either.
“I know that she will serve our community well,” Colberg said at the meeting.
She knows Allen from times that she’s filled in as a temporary judge in Gig Harbor.
“Her reputation follows her,” Colberg said. “She is highly respected in the legal community. I feel very fortunate to have her here on our bench.”
Allen takes the seat of Judge Zenon Olbertz, who didn’t seek to renew his contract for the part-time position, which is often filled by a lawyer in private practice, The Gateway reported. He was appointed by the mayor at the end of 2017.
The monthly base salary for the Gig Harbor Municipal Court judge was increased from $5,000 to $5,500 earlier this month, according to City Council records.
The court handles criminal misdemeanors and gross misdemeanors, infractions and parking violations in the city.
Long-time judge with ideas for Gig Harbor
Allen went to Central Washington University, the University of Washington School of Law and has been an attorney since 1988.
She worked as a prosecutor for small municipalities, has done criminal defense work and was first appointed as a sitting Municipal Court judge 19 years ago.
During Allen’s time in Milton, she said, she started a program that lets defendants do community service throughout the city to work off fines, such as for traffic tickets. In some cases they can also work off jail time that isn’t mandatory under state law. It’s essentially a “community service re-licensing program,” Allen said.
Additionally, she’s been a pro-tem judge, filling in on a temporary basis for various courts, for more than 22 years. She also was a dean for a few years at the Washington State Judicial College for new judges and taught at the judicial college for six years.
Allen has been on the District and Municipal Court Judges Association Board of Governors, has been a YMCA Washington State Mock Trial Competition judge and volunteered for several years at Amara Emergency Sanctuary, where she took care of children who were removed from their homes by Child Protective Services, according to a city news release.
Asked about her plans for Gig Harbor Municipal Court, Allen told The Gateway that first she’ll get input from attorneys and court staff.
She’s interested in starting a youth court program in Gig Harbor, similar to one in Bothel, where teenagers in some cases go before a panel of their peers, who make decisions about the cases.
“That is something that I think would be great to do in Gig Harbor,” Allen said. “... It’s great for the kids to have their peers telling them what they are doing wrong and what their punishment should be, versus a judge doing that. I think it makes a real impact on them.”
Another goal, she said, is to offer a community court for people whose low-level crimes stem from substance abuse or mental health challenges. Essentially a combination drug court and mental health court, it would be a therapeutic court program that would offer treatment, help with employment and other resources. In the therapeutic court model, upon successful graduation from the program, those who have done what the court asks see their charges dismissed.
