Judge Robert Whaley Nominated For U.S. District Court Position

Spokane County Superior Court Judge Robert Whaley, widely respected for his legal prowess and communication skills, is being nominated to become a U.S. District Court judge.

His name will be forwarded to the White House, where President Clinton is expected to send the nomination to the Senate for confirmation.

Whaley, 51, was one of three finalists picked to succeed U.S. District Court Judge Justin Quackenbush, who retires from the federal bench this summer.

Whaley, U.S. Magistrate Cynthia Imbrogno and attorney Rebecca Baker, of Republic, Wash., were interviewed Saturday in Saturday by U.S. Sens. Slade Gorton and Patty Murray.

The bipartisan nomination of the 51-year-old judge came jointly Monday from Murray, a Democrat, and Gorton, a Republican.

He will now undergo background investigations by the FBI and the American Bar Association.

With Gorton’s support, Whaley’s nomination likely will get easier sledding before the Senate Judiciary Committee, now controlled by Republicans.

“Judge Whaley is an impressive individual, wellsuited for this position,” Gorton said in a prepared statement. “He will serve Eastern Washington well.”

In the same statement, Murray said Whaley “has extensive experience as a lawyer and a judge, as well as broad support from community leaders” throughout the state.

“It is a pleasure to recommend such a wellqualified candidate,” Murray said.

In his typical fashion, Whaley was modest and low-key Monday when asked about the nomination for the lifetime federal bench job that pays $134,000 a year.

“Both senators were very thorough and interested in my qualifications and perspective on the judiciary and problems facing the federal courts,” Whaley said.

A Georgia native, he attended Princeton and Emory universities.

After two years in private practice in Georgia, he became a trial attorney with the Land and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.

He moved to Spokane in 1971, where he worked two years as a federal prosecutor before entering private law practice with the Spokane firm of Winston-Cashatt.

There, he represented several plaintiffs, including a group of service station owners who brought a landmark suit against Texaco Inc.

The legal battle lasted 15 years.

After two trials in U.S. District Court and two appeals, Whaley met the oil company attorneys in the U.S. Supreme Court in December 1989.

He prevailed in June 1990 when the nation’s highest court ruled 9-0 in the case involving gasoline pricing to wholesalers.

In 1992, Whaley earned the title of Washington state trial lawyer of the year for “tirelessly working for the protection of individual rights.”

After Whaley was nominated to become a state court judge in 1992, no other lawyer was willing to file against him and he ran unopposed for the Superior Court job.