Judicial Appointments

Governor Gregoire cares deeply about the quality of the judiciary in the state of Washington and takes the honor of making judicial appointments very seriously. She strives to strengthen the quality, efficiency, and image of our judiciary through her appointments. Judicial appointments have a significant impact on the citizens of Washington and those who do business in this state and are a high priority for the Governor. She believes that the selection of experienced, independent and well-qualified lawyers to join the bench is vital to maintaining not only an efficient judicial system, but also a just democracy and vital economy.


Penoyar, Joel M.
Appointed: September 14, 2005
Division 2, District III, Court of Appeals
Effective: October 6, 2005
Replacing: Judge J. Dean Morgan, retiring

Sullivan, Michael J.
Appointed: October 7, 2005
Superior Court for Pacific and Wahkiakum Counties
Effective: October 17, 2005
Replacing: Judge Joel M. Penoyar, appointed to Division 2, District III, Court of Appeals

Hickman, John R.
Appointed: November 10, 2005
Pierce County Superior Court
Effective: December 9, 2005
New position

Serko, Susan Keers
Appointed: December 23, 2005
Pierce County Superior Court
Effective: January 4, 2006
Replacing: Judge Bruce Cohoe, retiring

Kulik, Teresa C.
Appointed: January 17, 2006
District 3, Division III, Court of Appeals
Effective: February 16, 2006
Replacing: Judge Frank L. Kurtz, appointed to United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Washington

Kurtz, David A.
Appointed: January 17, 2006
Snohomish County Superior Court
Effective: January 21, 2006
Replacing: Judge Stephen J. Dwyer, elected to Court of Appeals

Needy, David R.
Appointed: January 18, 2006
Skagit County Superior Court
Effective: January 20, 2006
New position

Stephens, Debra L.
Appointed: April 24, 2007
Division 3, District 1, Court of Appeals
Effective: May 14, 2007
Replacing: Judge Ken Kato, retiring

Craighead, Susan
Appointed: September 6, 2007
Court: King County Superior Court
Effective: September 24, 2007
Replacing: Judge Michael Spearman, retiring

Heller, Bruce
Appointed: September 19, 2007
Court: King County Superior Court
Effective: October 15, 2007
Replacing: New Position

Prochnau, Kimberly
Appointed: October 24, 2007
Court: King County Superior Court
Effective:  November 1, 2007
Replacing: Judge Richard Jones, appointed to U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington

Weiss, Bruce
Appointed: November 26, 2007
Court: Snohomish County Superior Court
Effective: December 10, 2007
New Position

Lau, Linda
Appointed: November 27, 2007
Court: Division I Court of Appeals
Effective: January 1, 2008
Replacing: Judge H. Joseph Coleman, retiring

Stephens, Debra L.
Appointed: December 4, 2007
Court: Supreme Court
Effective: January 1, 2008
Replacing: Justice Bobbe Bridge, retiring

Edwards, David
Appointed: December 19, 2007
Court: Grays Harbor County Superior Court
Effective: January 2, 2008
Replacing: Judge David Foscue, retiring

Linde, John
Appointed: December 19, 2007
Court: San Juan County Superior Court
Effective: January 1, 2008
New Position

Leach, J. Robert
Appointed: January 23, 2008
Court: Court of Appeals, Division I, District 2
Effective: March 1, 2008
Replacing: Judge William W. Baker, retiring

Benton, Monica
Appointed: January 25, 2008
Court: King County Superior
Effective: March 1, 2008
Replacing: Judge Linda Lau, appointed to Court of Appeals, Division I

A link to the Uniform Judicial Evaluation Questionnaire is located above under the Other Resources tab. The questionnaire is appropriate for appointments to the Superior Court, the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. Applications and letters of support should be submitted directly to the Governor's General Counsel, who is in charge of the Governor's judicial evaluation and selection process, at the following address:

Temple of Justice

Richard E. Mitchell, General Counsel
Office of the Governor
Legislative Building
P.O. Box 40002
Olympia, Washington 98504

 

Or by e-mail attachment to Melynda Campbell at the Office of the Governor. (If you choose to submit an application electronically, be sure to send signed hard copies of the signature page located at the end of the application as well as the Authorizations to Release Information found above.) Along with the questionnaire, please also submit a brief resume (no more than 3 pages).

Evaluations from the state, county and minority bar associations help the Governor locate and evaluate the widest spectrum of candidates. All applicants are strongly encouraged to utilize these evaluation programs and to contact the county and minority bar associations as soon as possible in the application process. If you are applying for an appellate position, please contact the Washington State Bar Association to obtain its evaluation. Please also contact the various minority bar associations as soon as possible including, but not limited to, the Latina/o Bar Association, the Loren Miller Bar Association, the Joint Asian Judicial Evaluation Committee, the GLBT Bar Association of Washington (Q-Law), Washington Women Lawyers (or its county affiliate), the Pierce County Minority Bar Association, and the Northwest Indian Bar Association. A regularly updated directory of the minority bar associations and their respective Judicial Evaluation Committee Chairpersons can be found at: http://www.wsba.org/lawyers/links/minoritybarassoc.htm.

A central goal in the Governor's judicial evaluation and selection process is to gather as much information about each candidate from as many sources as possible to ensure a robust vetting process. Before filling a vacancy, the thoughts of the judges on the bench where the vacancy exists are always considered, together with input from bar and community leaders and every available bar association evaluation or rating.

Every qualified candidate who submits an application and completes the evaluation process is personally interviewed by the Governor's General Counsel, and finalists are interviewed by the Governor personally. The Governor's process for evaluating and selecting candidates can be lengthy, and every effort is made to fill vacancies as quickly as possible. However quality is never compromised for speed. In order to facilitate timely decision making, interested and qualified lawyers are encouraged to submit an application at any time - so that a ready pool of applications is on file when a vacancy opens.

Gubernatorial appointees hold office until the next general election, at which time the people of the area they serve may vote to retain the appointed judge or elect another candidate. While appointees are often not challenged, any appointee must be well prepared to launch a vigorous campaign to retain the seat. See Related News and Appointments to Date tabs above for other pages concerning judicial appointments by the Governor.