Field for judge election crowded

Spokane County commissioners probably weren’t thinking of it at the time, but they may have earned the undying gratitude of the community’s sign-makers last year.

When they filled a vacancy on the county’s District Court, appointing longtime judge pro-tem Harvey Dunham to the opening created when Harold Clark moved up to Superior Court, the commissioners laid the groundwork for this September’s contentious five-way primary.

Appointed judges always have to run for election and seldom go through their first race unopposed.

But the commissioners’ decision to forgo the usual practice of conducting a local Bar Association poll of applicants – then ignore the short list of recommended candidates from the review panel they set up – clearly opened the spigot for candidates willing to challenge a sitting judge.

With Dunham and his four challengers, plus two challengers for three-term District Judge Sara Derr, two other local attorneys running for an open seat and two incumbents drawing single challengers, campaign yard signs started sprouting about the same time as dandelions in Spokane. And they spread about as fast.

“This town is a ‘sign’ town,” Derr said recently.

Two of Dunham’s opponents, private attorney Mike Nelson and deputy prosecutor David Stevens, were on the list of recommended candidates that the commissioners received from its appointed panel. Both say the commissioners’ decision was legal, but curious.

“It was unusual to ask for a recommendation, then to get the recommendation and ignore it,” Nelson said.

“It’s their prerogative,” Stevens said. “I don’t think it was fair to the people who applied.”

County deputy prosecutor Debra Hayes, who is also in the race, said the process made it seem as though Dunham’s appointment was “in the bag” for a friend of Commissioner Phil Harris.

Deputy public defender Christine Carlile, said she doesn’t know much about Dunham’s selection because she was deployed as a military lawyer with the Army Reserves when it happened. But when she mentioned to a few colleagues she was interested in becoming a judge, they urged her to get into this race because incumbents are more difficult to beat.

“I like Judge Dunham,” Carlile said. Although she’s never tried a case in front of him, she said she’s heard he’s “kind and totally professional” on the bench.

“To say (the appointment) wasn’t controversial would not be a true statement,” Dunham said. But he believes he’s had nearly a year and a half on the bench to answer any questions and “take away any concerns people had with the process.”

The other candidates are more likely to emphasize their credentials than directly attack Dunham’s.

District court handles misdemeanor trials and first hearings for felony defendants, and Hayes and Stevens both cite their years handling criminal cases as a more important qualification than filling in as a pro tem judge. She currently works on domestic violence cases and he on property and fraud cases.

Nelson offers criminal experience of another kind, as a former police officer in Salt Lake City where he spent a year undercover as a narcotics officer, as well as civil trial work for both plaintiffs and defendants.

Dunham counters that he served seven years as a judge pro tem, getting practice at the job before getting the appointment. “I’ve been a judge longer than some of my opponents have been lawyers,” he said at a candidate forum this month.

Like most pro tem judges, he didn’t handle many cases during the seven years he served in that capacity. The cases he did try were civil matters. But that, too, is an area of the court’s workload.

“None of the candidates have experience in all of the areas,” he said. “All judges get appointed and have to learn certain skills.”

Derr faces a primary challenge from Dan Davis, a city public defender, and F. Dana Kelley, a private attorney who has worked as a city prosecutor. Davis said he didn’t want to get into the five-way race for Dunham’s position, and in looking at the other seats settled on Derr when he thought she would be running unopposed.

Because district court is the public’s most common experience with the judicial system, a judge “needs to be respectful of everyone,” he said and contends that sometimes Derr is not so respectful of defendants.

Kelley was even more pointed, labelling Derr as “arrogant” and “gratuitously mean.”

Derr said she was surprised that such criticism would be leveled at her or any member of the local district court bench.

“We want to treat everyone with respect and still do our job,” she said. “I certainly make every effort to be respectful of the defendants in front of me. If I’ve failed at some point, I guess that makes me human.”

All the candidates are talking about finding ways to handle the high volume of cases that flow through the court, which handles traffic infractions and misdemeanors from throughout the county as well as the cities of Spokane and Spokane Valley, plus the first appearances for felony cases where a defendant’s bail is set.

Stevens believes an experienced trial attorney would be better able to “cut to the chase” and find efficiencies: “I know what moves cases along.”

Davis says the court could find ways to streamline some traffic cases that involve loss of driver’s license and are sent to a collection agency if payments aren’t made or a court appearance is missed. That can put low-income defendants into a cycle of more costs and court appearances and new tickets, if they lose their licenses but have to drive get to work.

Several are suggesting “night court,” where judges would rotate through an evening shift that some defendants might find more convenient than coming to the courthouse during the workday. Carlile thought rearranging the way misdemeanor cases are divided among the judges and using night court for traffic cases might ease the volume.

Hayes called it a “viable option” that judges should staff on a rotating basis.

Derr said the county is currently studying night court arrangements in other areas and may make a decision next year. It’s not a panacea, she said, because there are added expenses for staff, security and maintenance if the courthouse stays open longer. What might make sense is to handle more first appearance hearings for suspects booked into the county jail at night, determining whether probably cause exists to continue with prosecution and setting bail, which could ease jail crowding, she said.

“We tried ‘infraction’ night court and had trouble getting people to come to it,” she said.

Dunham said the best way to ease the burden is with increased co-operation between the court, the prosecutor’s office and the public defender’s office.

Position 2

Dan Davis

Age: 59

Education: Law degree, Gonzaga University 1999.

Professional experience: Currently a public defender for Spokane. Washington State Patrol, 1971-96; private practice in Seattle 1996-99 and Spokane 1999-2000.

Campaign finances: Raised $23,000 as of last report, with $20,000 coming from personal funds; no expenses reported.

Web site: None yet.

Sara Derr

Age: 55

Education: Law degree, Gonzaga University 1983; also bachelor of science, WSU.

Professional experience: Incumbent, elected to district court in 1994, currently in second term as presiding judge. Private practice, 1983-94.

Campaign finances: Raised $25,000 as of last report, primarily from personal funds, no expenses reported.

Web site: www.reelectsara derr.com.

F. Dana Kelley

Age: 53

Education: Law degree, Gonzaga University 1987; also bachelor of science, University of Illinois; master of arts, WSU.

Professional experience: Currently in private practice, serving as city prosecutor for Newport and Airway Heights. Has served as tribal prosecutor and judge pro tem for Spokane Tribe; banker for Farm Credit Bank, 1979-87.

Campaign finances: Plans to raise and spend no more than $3,500 for entire campaign.

Web site: Not at this time.

Position 6

Christine Carlile

Age: 46

Education: Law degree Seattle University, 1994; also bachelor of arts, University of Washington.

Professional experience: Currently a Spokane County deputy public defender and a military attorney with the Judge Advocate General. U.S. Army and Army Reserves for more than 28 years. Formerly with Principal Financial group in Spokane and in private practice in Olympia.

Campaign finances: Raised $3,450 as of last report, with $2,250 from personal funds; spent about $3,130.

Web site: Not at this time.

Harvey Dunham

Age: 55

Education: Law degree Texas Tech, 1979; also bachelor of science, WSU.

Professional experience: Incumbent District Court judge, appointed February 2005. Previously district court judge pro tem starting in 1997, attorney in private practice.

Campaign finances: Raised nearly $22,500, including $13,900 in personal funds, as of last report; spent $16,000.

Web site: www.retain- dunham.com.

Debra Hayes

Age: 50.

Education: Law degree, Gonzaga University 1999; also Eastern Washington University, pre-law.

Professional experience: Currently Spokane County deputy prosecutor in domestic violence unit, member of county Domestic Violence Consortium. Formerly deputy prosecutor for juvenile crimes and drug and property crimes; former paralegal.

Campaign finances: Raised about $19,000 as of last report, with $12,000 coming from personal funds and personal loan; spent about $9,000.

Web site: www.debrahayes forjudge.com.

Mike Nelson

Age: 55

Education: Law degree, Gonzaga University 1983.

Professional experience: In private practice since 1998, primarily in civil law, also serves as emergency medical technician for Fire District 4. Previously in U.S. Army 1969-72, Salt Lake City Police Department, Spokane City Prosecutor 1983-91; attorney for Cigna Property and Casualty, representing local school districts and businesses, 1991-98.

Campaign finances: Raised about $21,000 as of last report, including $18,500 in personal funds and personal loans; spent about $13,500.

Web site: www.willworkfor justice.com.

David Stevens

Age: 44

Education: Law degree, University of Washington, 1999; bachelor of arts, UW.

Professional experience: Currently Spokane County deputy prosecutor in criminal unit. Formerly, Whitman County deputy prosecutor, Spokane city prosecutor, federal civil rights investigator. Served in U.S. Navy.

Campaign finances: Raised about $10,000 as of last report, including about $2,600 from personal funds and personal loans; spent about $3,500.

Web site: www.davidstevens .org.