Justices Durham, Johnson Face Challengers But Charles Smith Has Free Ride To Another Six-Year Term

State Supreme Court justices Barbara Durham and Charles W. Johnson both face challengers this year while a third, Charles Z. Smith, has a free ride to another six-year term on the court.

Kathryn Ross, 44, of Mukilteo, and Mark Mestel, 45, of Everett are running in an effort to oust Durham, a 53-year-old court veteran from Seattle who has been chief justice since 1995.

Johnson, 45, of Gig Harbor also has two challengers in his bid for a second term: Barnett N. Kalikow, 41, of Olympia and Douglas J. Smith, 67, of Everett.

Smith has no opponents in the non-partisan race.

The contested seats can be won in the primary if one candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote. If nobody gets more than 50 percent, the two top vote-getters will go on to the Nov. 5 general election.

Three seats on the nine-member court are up for election every two years. Only lawyers can run.

A law graduate of Stanford University, Durham is considered a moderate to conservative on the court, and one of its sharpest thinkers. She has won endorsements from a host of organizations, including law enforcement and the Women’s Political Caucus.

Beyond presiding over the court, her accomplishments include efforts to limit judicial campaign contributions, voluntarily applying those limits to her own campaign. She also has pushed efforts to overhaul the court system to make it more efficient, and to reduce the level of domestic violence.

Ross, a 20-year lawyer with a practice in Seattle, has handled a wide variety of cases, including death penalty appeals. “I’m very proud of the work I have done. I don’t view the death penalty as a liberal versus conservative issue. The more that is at stake, the more the courts have to be cautious,” she told an interviewer.

Ross, a graduate of Gonzaga Law School, opposes cameras in the courtroom, saying they interfere with a person’s right to a fair trial. She is a strong champion of retaining the state system in which judges are elected to the bench rather than appointed. In Washington, appointments are made only to fill vacancies created by judges leaving the bench before their terms expire.

Mestel, a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, opened a law practice in Everett in 1981, and has 25 years experience as a trial attorney. He also served as staff attorney for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1976-77.

Among other things he would bring to the high court, Mestel said, is the resolve to unsnarl and simplify what he says are many procedures and rules in Washington courts that cause hardship to citizens and are unnecessary.

In the other contested Supreme Court race, Johnson is running to keep a post he won in 1990, after defeating veteran Keith Callow. Johnson won despite being an unknown who mounted virtually no campaign.

Johnson, endorsed by police and labor groups, among others, is a graduate of the University of Puget Sound Law School. Before his election, he had a solo law practice. Proud of his roots as a general practice lawyer, Johnson said he remains determined to keep the concerns of the average person in mind when rendering decisions.

Kalikow, also a UPS Law School graduate, is the former chief civil deputy prosecuting attorney in Okanogan County, where he also served briefly as prosecuting attorney to fill a vacancy.

Kalikow, who has practiced extensively in the area of land-use law, is unusual as a high court candidate in the sharpness with which he attacks Johnson. He contends Johnson’s opinions are not well-reasoned and the justice is not objective.

Johnson said he was mystified by the criticism, but not concerned. “My record speaks for itself and anyone willing to take a look will see that the criticisms aren’t justified. You can’t get into personal battles so I won’t.”

Douglas Smith, who has run unsuccessful campaigns for several offices in Washington, is a graduate of the University of Washington Law School. He has broad legal experience, having served as a prosecutor in Yakima before starting a practice in Seattle. He also worked in the Ford White House.

He said he is running partly to rewrite court rules of procedure, which he contends confuse lawyers and the public alike and thwart swift and fair justice.