New Municipal Judge Named Airway Heights Mayor Appoints Attorney From His Past

Airway Heights’ lame-duck Mayor Don Harmon is dumping the city’s Municipal Court judge in favor of an attorney who once represented him.

Harmon’s decision to hire lawyer and former Spokane County District Court Judge John Nollette is one of his last acts as outgoing mayor.

Nollette represented Harmon three years ago when Harmon was pulled over on suspicion of drunken driving. The criminal charge was dropped in exchange for Harmon accepting a ticket for improper lane change. Harmon’s blood-alcohol level, measured after he was stopped by the State Patrol, was half the legal standard for intoxication.

Nollette, who served on the county’s District Court bench from 1982 to 1991, takes over Jan. 1 from veteran Judge Patricia Warnick.

Warnick is one of a handful of non-attorney judges in the state of Washington. She has presided over the Airway Heights court since 1982.

Warnick, well respected in her profession, has been elected president of the state District and Municipal Court Judges Association. Her term starts next spring.

Harmon’s move strips Warnick of her title as a judge. She said she will continue to work as a court commissioner in the city of Cheney and that job allows her to maintain eligibility for the state association presidency.

“It’s disappointing,” Warnick said of Harmon’s decision. “It just seems like a political move. It’s a personal preference for him.”

Both Harmon and Nollette said the 1994 drunken-driving case had nothing to do with the appointment.

Five other candidates, including Warnick, were interviewed for the job. Harmon said Nollette was the best qualified among them.

“It’s the qualifications of the man that made the difference,” Harmon said.

Nollette runs a private practice in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene and specializes in criminal defense and personal injury cases.

“I don’t have a personal relationship with Don,” Nollette said.

The opportunity to preside in Airway Heights allows him to return to public service, he said. Nollette won election twice to Spokane’s District Court but was unseated by Judge Donna Wilson in 1990.

In court, he promised a professional approach for both sides.

“They’ll have the opportunity to have a fair trial and a fair hearing in all cases,” he said.

State law gives the Airway Heights mayor authority to appoint the judge once every four years. The appointment coincides with expiration of the mayor’s four-year term.

Cities with populations of less than 5,000 may seat non-lawyers as municipal judges. Once a city’s population exceeds 5,000, the state requires that the judge be a lawyer.

The city’s population is now 4,150 and is forecast to grow by 500 or more next year because of expected increases in the number of inmates at the Airway Heights Corrections Center and non-prison growth. Inmates are included in the city’s population.

Harmon said the fact that Airway Heights could exceed 5,000 people next year is the main reason for changing judges.

“The new judge is an attorney and a member of the bar,” Harmon said. “The responsibility is mine. If anybody doesn’t like it, that’s just too bad.”

Warnick said she believes the City Council should have to confirm the appointment.

City Administrator Mike Patterson said state law allows a city council to exercise confirmation power over judicial appointments, but only if the council grants that power to itself. In Airway Heights, the council has never done that, so the decision rests solely with Harmon, Patterson said.

“I feel much better having someone who has actually been trained in the law making decisions in Airway Heights,” Patterson said.

The Airway Heights judge works part time, holding night court on Wednesdays three or four times a month for $950 in pay. Harmon said he wants the city to hold both afternoon and night courts, something Warnick was unable to do.

Warnick said Harmon never discussed that issue with her. But Harmon made it clear when he was elected mayor four years ago that he intended to appoint a new judge, she said.

“It wasn’t unexpected,” Warnick said.

Incoming Mayor Brian Grady said he has no comment about Harmon’s decision.

“That’s his call,” Grady said. , DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo