Judge Agrees To Suspension

Sat., Feb. 5, 2000

A veteran King County judge whose 1998 campaign for the state Supreme Court was derailed by allegations of sexual harassment has agreed to a 30-day suspension to settle the case.

Under a tentative deal endorsed Friday by the state Commission on Judicial Conduct, Superior Court Judge Jim Bates accepted responsibility for his improper behavior and also agreed to participate in sensitivity training.

The allegations against Bates surfaced just days before the 1998 November elections. He lost in a landslide to incumbent Justice Barbara Madsen.

Bates was accused of making crude sexual remarks to three female co-workers, including a subordinate who said she felt trapped in a relationship with him, and of sending a graphic article from a medical journal through the office mail system. Two of the co-workers said he also made sexual comments about autopsy photographs of murder victims.

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