Judicial Proposal Gets Chilly Reception Plan Would Require Minimum Experience For Those Running For Court Candidates

Thu., Jan. 28, 1999

From Staff

A proposal to amend the Washington Constitution to set minimum qualifications for judges was met with skepticism Wednesday by lawmakers who questioned whether it will result in better jurists.

Several members of the Senate Judiciary Committee criticized the proposal offered two weeks ago by state Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Guy in his “State of the Judiciary” address.

Spokane Sen. Bob McCaslin, the ranking Republican on the committee, called it an elitist measure. He outlined his own proposal to remove the only current requirement for Supreme Court justices: that they be lawyers.

Another committee member suggested setting a minimum age requirement, saying life experience outweighs legal experience.

No action was taken Wednesday, but prospects for any proposal are uncertain at best.

It takes a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate to forward a constitutional amendment to the November ballot. If it gets that far, it needs a simple majority of Washington voters to pass.

Guy pledged to push the issue after his peers elected him chief justice in December. Although he has emphasized that he’s not criticizing anyone in particular, he has expressed concern that several candidates for the high court last year had a lot less experience than others. One candidate was two years out of law school.

Under Senate Joint Resolution 8203, the state would set minimum qualifications of 10 years of legal experience for Supreme Court candidates, seven years for the Court of Appeals and five years for Superior Court.

But several lawmakers questioned the need.

“I’ve known people who’ve been lawyers for 20 years, and they’re lousy lawyers and they’d make lousy judges,” said Sen. Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam.

McCaslin filed his own constitutional amendment - SJR 8200. It would remove the requirement that a judge in Washington be an attorney.

“My bills open up the opportunity for people to serve,” McCaslin said. “Their bills close opportunities to serve. Their bills make the courts more elite.”

McCaslin’s wife, Linda Callahan McCaslin, made a bid for the state Supreme Court last fall. She finished last in a three-way race, and was criticized in legal circles for running for the state’s highest court just two years after she graduated from the Notre Dame School of Law.

MODEST PROPOSALS Senate Joint Resolution 8203: proposed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Guy, set minimum of 10 years of legal experience for Supreme Court candidates, seven years for the Court of Appeals and five years for Superior Court. SJR 8200: sponsored by Sen. Bob McCaslin, R-Spokane Valley, would remove the requirement that a judge in Washington be an attorney. Age requirements: Senate Judiciary Chairman Mike Heavey, D-Seattle, suggested a minimum age of 30 for Superior Court judges, 35 for Appeals Court judges and 40 for Supreme Court justices, or perhaps one minimum age for all judicial seats, such as 35.

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