Industrial Appeals judge, attorney who represents the injured run for Superior Court judgeship

Vying to replace a retiring judge on the Pierce County Superior Court bench are an attorney specializing in personal injury cases and a state Industrial Appeals judge.

During her 18 years as an attorney in Pierce County, Shelly Speir, 49, has focused primarily on representing people who have been injured. That includes personal injury, vehicle accident, construction accident, dog bite and brain injury cases.

Dominique Jinhong, 43, has spent 3 1/2 as an Industrial Appeals judge, a position in which she hears appeals to decisions made by the state Department of Labor and Industries concerning workplace safety and injuries.

Both women are seeking the position being vacated by Judge Vicki Hogan, who has endorsed Speir.

“I’m used to having to think on my feet, listen very carefully to people and learn very quickly about situations that I may have never experienced, but that people are telling me about,” Speir said.

She started her career studying ballet, then studied education and became a teacher. After she lost a young student to gun violence she looked for a change, and attended law school at the University of Puget Sound with her mother and sister.

Since 2000, she’s worked with the Troup, Christnacht, Ladenburg, McKasy, Durkin & Speir law firm.

“I see myself as having a voice for the civil litigants on the bench,” she said.

Jinhong also attended UPS as an undergraduate and a law student, and studied there on a softball scholarship.

She started her law career as a special assistant U.S. attorney with the Social Security Administration. That included defending the agency against employment discrimination lawsuits and prosecuting Social Security fraud.

Then she joined the U.S. Army Reserve for six years, where much of her work involved prosecuting soldiers accused of misconduct or crimes.

Later she was a deputy prosecutor in Thurston County for more than nine years, the last few handling cases involving allegations of child sex abuse.

That run ended in 2011, after incoming Prosecutor Jon Tunheim said he wasn’t going to reappoint Jinhong and four other attorneys.

“When they come in, they can select their own team,” Jinhong said. “… He made it clear that he just wanted to start fresh.”

Speir notes that she’s the only candidate in the race who has had trial work in Pierce County Superior Court.

“Every county is different, and the judges in each county are responsible for setting rules and policies for their own court,” she said. “… Experience matters. I’ve been here for 18 years working in our system.”

Jinhong pointed out that she’s lived in Pierce County for about 25 years, the last nine of those in Fircrest. In addition, she said, that while she hasn’t had a complete trial in Pierce County, she has handled Pierce County cases.

She also noted she’s done volunteer legal work in Pierce County, including with the Rainbow Center and the Crystal Judson Family Justice Center.

“I’m not an outsider, but I do think there is a tremendous benefit to practicing in multiple courts and jurisdictions,” she said. “Because you get the perspective of what works and what doesn’t work.”

This story was originally published October 23, 2016 at 4:52 PM with the headline "Industrial Appeals judge, attorney who represents the injured run for Superior Court judgeship."