It is generally confusing to determine how to elect a judge at any level.
Electing a judge to serve as a Supreme Court Justice is even more difficult.
The Washington State Constitution states that “The judges of the supreme court shall be elected by the qualified electors of the state.”
So how is it that five of the current judges running in this election, including three on the supreme court, were first appointed by a governor to a judicial position?
Here is a bit of history.
In 1988, the voters of Washington were asked if they wanted to change the Washington state Constitution so that the supreme court judges would be appointed by a governor and citizens would only vote to keep or reject.
The proposal was roundly defeated.
Had it passed, the administrative branch of government (the governor) would have unilaterally decided who would sit on our third branch of government — the judiciary. This would unbalance our system of checks and balances. It is a selection rather than an election.
It, without a doubt, would have politicized the court. Even now, you can see the form used by the governor’s office to select a judge. Without a doubt, political bias is clear.
Today, over 80% of all of our superior court judges, our appellate court judges and our supreme court judges have been appointed when first serving.
Again, how can this be? I can only speculate on details but it doesn’t require guesswork to see that each appointee is filling a space vacated by a judge in a way that permits the governor to fill the space. The provision in the constitution for appointment was meant to cover the case of an unexpected death or an illness precluding the judge from fulfilling the obligations of the job.
No current vacancy is due to those causes.
The state’s voters have a unique opportunity to retrieve our right to choose and to move the court away from the politicization that has occurred. FIVE positions for the Washington state Supreme Court are on the ballot.
Five of the candidates are judges originally appointed. They are running for positions 1, 3, 4, 5, and 7 on the court. Supreme court positions 1 and 5 were appointed this year alone by the governor.
Each of the five positions has one other candidate. None of those candidates were appointed but three were elected as judges. All of these candidates have the philosophy that the constitution is a safeguard against the abuse of government. All recognize the first principle in our state constitution: the citizenry are the ultimate holders of power. In short, all non-appointed candidates are constitutionalists.
So, please, consider carefully your vote. Judicial ethics affirm: A judge shall uphold and promote the independence, integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.
Do you want a judge who construes the constitution to support a decision or do you want a constitutionalist judge?
V.L.A. Parker
Thurston County
