District courts: 5 contend for open seat on Everett bench

In district courts, the line of people coming through the door accused of DUI or misdemeanor assault, or seeking small claims, seems endless.

Judges have to be efficient but fair — dealing out judgments fast enough to get through the day's calendar but giving all parties enough time to make their cases.

As a reward, district judges in Snohomish County can spend a career at their posts, going unopposed in election after election.

So when a spot opens up, like it did in Position 2 of Everett District Court this year, it attracts a lot of interest. Five people are vying for the seat Thomas Kelly held for 32 years. District judges in Washington will make $125,672 a year as of Sept. 1.

The top two from the primary will go on to the general election in November.

Each of the five candidates has experience in law, and many have spent time as prosecutors for cities or the county. A couple are substitute, or pro tem, judges in various courts.

Tim Geraghty, a Snohomish County deputy prosecutor, said he'd use his experience as a clerk and prosecutor, and his experience in the corporate world before he became a lawyer, to make District Court more efficient.

"The district courts, there's a lot of stuff they could improve on in terms of systems," Geraghty said.

He'd like the court to have more information on its Web site about legal processes. He said he'd also like to see people be able to pay their tickets online, which he thinks might cut down on collection costs.

David Hulbert said the pace of a district court is a lot different from Snohomish County Superior Court, where he was a judge for 12 years. Hulbert lost to current Judge Eric Lucas in a campaign that focused on Hulbert's conflicts with attorneys and state agencies.

"In district court, you've got cases coming at you bang, bang, bang," Hulbert said. It's the court "where the rubber meets the road" for most people because it's where DUI, domestic-violence and minor assault cases are often heard.

Tam Bui, an administrative-law judge and pro tem judge, said it's important for a district judge to have people skills.

"The interesting part is that it's the court that stands out in peoples' minds as representing what the court system is," she said.

Bui said that if she's elected, she'd like to open the court to an annual program for kids to come in and view court proceedings and learn about careers in the legal arena.

Lorrie Towers, a prosecutor and pro tem judge in several local cities, said she'd like to have a mock-trial day for kids to learn about the court.

Lance Engle, an investigator for the state Attorney General's Office, said he would use his position to structure creative sentencing to keep new offenders from going to "felony land" — Superior Court.

"What's needed is somebody that can listen but make the hard decisions, too," he said.

In a race on the ballot for some Snohomish County voters in the Bothell area, King County District Judge Mary Ann Ottinger is facing her first election challenge since being appointed to the bench in 1992. Ottinger, who serves in the Northeast District, which includes Bothell, is facing Frank LaSalata, a substitute judge for King County District Court, and Richard Pope, a Bellevue attorney.

The state Supreme Court in July suspended Ottinger for 30 days without pay after the state Commission on Judicial Conduct found she had a pattern of improper conduct related to informing defendants of their legal rights. The commission also censured Ottinger in 2004 for failing to tell defendants they had a right to counsel.

LaSalata and Pope say that shows she's unfit to remain on the bench. Ottinger says many other local judges make the same errors she was accused of, and that the state commission says some of her improved procedures now "may serve as a model" for other judges.

LaSalata said his eight years as a pro tem judge in King County give him the qualifications for the job. Pope said he would learn on the job and perform better than Ottinger.

Ottinger said more than a decade as a judge has provided her with valuable contacts, knowledge and expertise. She said she is fair and consistent with defendants.

Seattle Times Eastside bureau reporter Ashley Bach contributed to this report. Brian Alexander: 425-745-7845 or balexander@seattletimes.com