Friend Of The Court Highly Regarded Judicial Magistrate Being Replaced Because She’s Not A Lawyer

Patricia Warnick never went to law school. She didn’t go to college.

But she’s sitting behind a judge’s bench doling out penalties to lawbreakers as a Municipal Court judge in Airway Heights and a court commissioner in Cheney.

The Rogers High School graduate and former businesswoman is one of a handful of non-lawyer magistrates in the state.

She is so well regarded that her colleagues, most of whom are lawyers, have elected her president of the statewide District and Municipal Court Judges Association.

But Warnick is being stripped of her appointment as a part-time judge because the outgoing mayor of Airway Heights wants an attorney instead.

“I feel I’m every bit as qualified as a lawyer-judge,” Warnick said last week.

She passed a qualifying test before she was appointed to the bench in 1982 and has gained a reputation for even-handedness in the years since.

The people she sees are often poor. Some have problems with alcohol or drugs. A lot of them can’t pay traffic fines or they fail to show up in court.

Warnick tells them in words they can understand what they need to do to get out of trouble. She gives them options for paying off their fines and clearing their records.

“I feel an obligation to the public not to speak above their heads,” Warnick said. “The courts are for the people. I don’t think lay judges lose sight of that.”

At night court in Airway Heights last week, Warnick offered a 21-year-old woman a chance to avoid a shoplifting conviction.

The woman was caught stealing cigarettes and was ready to plead guilty. Instead, Warnick offered her what’s called a diversion because the woman did not have a record. The diversion allows her a second chance and her record will stay clean.

To qualify, the woman must pay a $150 court charge.

“She’s fair,” the woman said afterward. “I got off pretty easy.”

That’s her style.

“I try to work with them and make them understand I want them to succeed in what they do,” she said.

“I’m not here to penalize them and pass judgment on them.”

Because its difficult to fill judge positions in small towns, non-lawyers like Warnick can serve as judges in cities and county districts of less than 5,000 people.

The practice of having lay judges dates back to the days when magistrates traveled circuits from town to town, administering justice.

Their ranks are dwindling, but 12 lay magistrates serve in Washington, mostly in small towns like Brewster and Pomeroy and rural areas like Adams County.

Next May, Warnick will assume the presidency of the 120-member state association even though she will no longer hold the title of judge.

Warnick will continue to serve as court commissioner in Cheney, keeping her eligible for the association presidency.

The current president, Judge Clifford Stilz of Thurston County, said Warnick is well suited to preside in a court of limited jurisdiction because of her ability to communicate with defendants.

“People skills become absolutely paramount,” Stilz said.

In Cheney, Warnick handles all of the city’s traffic, misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor cases much like a regular judge.

“She’s real level-headed and very objective,” said City Administrator Jim Reinbold.

Her work is overseen by Municipal Judge Daniel Maggs, who holds a part-time appointment in Cheney and serves full-time in Spokane County District Court.

Warnick recently was appointed a judge pro-tem on the Spokane County District Court bench to fill in for vacationing judges.

In Airway Heights, outgoing Mayor Don Harmon appointed Spokane attorney John Nollette to replace Warnick on Jan. 1.

Nollette is a former Spokane County District Court judge. He also represented Harmon three years ago when Harmon was charged with drunken driving. A test showed Harmon had less than half the legal limit of alcohol in his blood. The drunken driving charge was dropped in exchange for a traffic charge of improper lane change.

Harmon said he sought an attorney for the job because Airway Heights, with a population of 4,150, soon may exceed the 5,000 population threshold.

As president of the state association, Warnick will work with other judges and lawmakers to write new laws. The association also oversees training programs for court employees.

Several years ago, Warnick served as a dean of the Judicial College, sponsored by the state board for court education. The college trains new judges when they take the bench.

“Pat is highly respected because she has an absolute and unwavering commitment to continuing judicial education,” Stilz said.

After being dumped by Harmon, Warnick said she is going to push for a new law requiring all cities to elect their judges rather than letting mayors appoint them.

In the city of Spokane, the municipal court judges are appointed by the mayor and City Council from the elected District Court judges.

Warnick has brought a number of innovations to her courts.

To save money, she trained her court clerks to handle probation services in both Cheney and Airway Heights.

In Cheney, she recently started a drug and alcohol diversion class for first-time offenders.

She said university students frequently get caught up in the party atmosphere around sororities and fraternities. A criminal arrest could damage their futures if they want to establish careers in professions where background checks are required.

First-time offenders who successfully complete the diversion requirements can have their charges dismissed.

Warnick said alcohol is one of the biggest reasons people end up before her. Drinking contributes not only to driving and underage violations, but also to domestic violence, malicious mischief and trespassing.

In Cheney last week, one defendant appeared before Warnick for a series of arrests for driving with his license suspended because he failed to pay fines.

Because of his repeat offenses, Warnick was not lenient.

She sentenced him by adding more to what he owed, but offered him a monthly payment plan. Then, she explained the foolishness of trying to get away with driving with a suspended license in Cheney.

“It’s a small town,” she said. “Police officers know who you are. They’ll get you every time.”

Warnick’s common-sense approach to the law comes from her background.

After she married, she and her husband ran an egg farm and processing plant at Marshall for nearly 20 years. Later, they opened the former Elegant Egg Restaurant in Cheney while overseeing the egg farm.

She went to work as a court clerk in Cheney in 1979 and studied for the judge’s exam in 1982. She passed the test and won her appointment from former Airway Heights Mayor Robert Bundy that year.

Warnick learned the law through her experience as a court clerk, by taking statewide education seminars and studying law books.

She said she sometimes wishes she had gone to college and studied law, but her earlier years were consumed by the jobs of raising a family and earning a living.

Without a law degree, she said she doesn’t get the respect she deserves.

“We feel we consistently have to prove ourselves,” Warnick said of lay judges.

Still, her biggest goal is getting defendants to face their legal responsibilities.

“You hope you make a difference in people’s lives,” she said. “I had one young man tell me, ‘How can you be so mean and so nice at the same time?”’

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