Outgoing Judges
By Judge Richard Eadie
This January 10 four King County Superior Court judges will be leaving the bench. These judges represent sixty-three years of judicial service and experience covering 25 years, during which period of time the Court grew from 34 to 51 judges, and opened a completely new courthouse in Kent.
Judge Steven Scott will join Judicial Dispute Resolution (JDR) on January 10, 2005. Judge Robert Alsdorf and Judge Anthony Wartnik expect to be involved in Alternative Dispute Resolution, as does Judge Terry Lukens, who is also looking forward to university teaching.
We will miss the experience and ability of these judges and will also miss their willingness to help whenever the court or cases needed extra effort; their willingness to help their judicial colleagues, lawyers and litigants whenever asked. We wish them all well in their new endeavors.
The following is their thoughts on their time on the beach:
Judge Anthony P. Wartnik, King County Superior Court, 1980 - 2005
As I approach retirement, reflecting upon 34 years as both a district and superior court judge, I do so with mixed emotions. The work has been and remains challenging and satisfying. I still enjoy every aspect of the job. There has not been any loss of enthusiasm, energy or interest. At the same time, I feel the need to strike a better balance between work, grandchildren, my bird dog, boating, fishing, and golf. Retirement is a good fit at this time.
The courts’ accomplishments have been many. The citizens of King County have been well served by them. The only real negative, unfortunately, has been the painful process of watching the destruction of much of what we have worked for due to the Eyman initiatives and the current economic climate.
Two significant undertakings have included serving on the commission that developed the Washington State Child Support Schedule and chairing Governor Lowry’ s Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Advi-sory Panel. The fruits of the advisory panel’s effort have just now resulted in our court’s decision to participate in a federally funded five year collaborative project to identify individuals in the criminal system that have a fetal alcohol spectrum. I will be acting as the liaison on this project between the court, counsel, and the Fetal Alcohol Drug Unit of the UW Medical School, as well as serving as a mediator and pro tempore judge.
Finally, it has been an honor and privilege to work with my fellow judges and the lawyers in our community. We have the best metropolitan court in the country due to their hard work, dedication, intelligence and creativity.
Judge Steven Scott, King County Superior Court 1988-2005
It is hard not to sound trite on the occasion of one’s retirement from the bench, and I expect to be no more successful than others. This allows me to begin simply by saying that it has been a great honor and privilege to have served the Bar
and the citizens of King County.
With judicial office necessarily comes criticism, and while I don’t mind it really, I have always tried to consider whether it had any validity. I have concluded that many times, there is at least something to be learned from it. In this day and age, however, a particularly fashionable criticism of the judiciary is that we are legislating, or making policy, or simply deciding issues of public importance based on our own personal values. Maybe this happens, but I leave the bench convinced that most of us struggle to do precisely the opposite ... to listen with a fair and open mind, to be respectful of all parties and perspectives in the courtroom, and to reach a just result consistent with applicable law.
This is easy to say and difficult to do. Personal values necessarily affect one’s sense of justice, and no judge will always agree personally with every statute that must be applied in a particular case. I thought when I took office that the right result would always be clear, and I have found that it almost never is if one is doing the job properly. Still, if anything, I believe more strongly in our justice system than ever, and I am grateful to have had a small part in making it work.
The decision to retire from the bench also was difficult. As I sit contemplating my future, I find that, as I have often done on the bench, I am second-guessing myself, wondering again whether I have made a wise decision. As many of you know, when my term ends in January, I will begin work in private dispute resolution. I know that I will miss the court tremendously but am hopeful that I can continue to be of service to our justice system in my new role. Thank you all very much for the privilege of serving.
Judge Robert Alsdorf, King County Superior Court 1990 - 2005
A few days before I began to write these words, the King County Bar Association’s new admittees took their oath of membership. A few days after these words have appeared in print, four new Judges will have taken their seats on the King County Superior Court and four of us will have left.
Upon joining the bar or the bench, each one of us has become part of a continuing tradition, one of peacefully and fairly resolving society’s most difficult disputes, some very public and some intensely private. Think, for example, of recent and pending cases in our state: from vigorously debated issues such as the death penalty, location(s) of a tent city, the construction of stadiums, election disputes, civil unions and gay marriage, the felony murder rule, to less publicized but comparably difficult problems of family break-ups, personal injuries, business disagreements and neighbors’ grievances. Because there can rarely be unanimity in the resolution reached on any serious public or private issue, I often find myself repeating the words of Learned Hand: “The spirit of liberty is that spirit which is not too sure that it is right.”
Only when a court fairly, respectfully and reasonably addresses what the losing party believes or perceives can a court’s decision on a current hot button topic have any reasonable chance of being accepted, let alone respected.
And we judges look to attorneys to help us in that task. Tell us what is right about your opponent’s position. Don’t just tell us what is wrong. If you are able to acknowledge what is good about the other side, and you can explain why it is still not enough for them to win, courts will have much more confidence that your analysis is balanced and reasonable.
The preamble to the Rules of Professional Conduct states:
The continued existence of a free and democratic society depends upon recognition of the concept that justice is based on the rule of law grounded in respect for the dignity of the individual and the capacity through reason for enlightened self-government. Law so grounded makes justice possible, for only through such law does the dignity of the individual attain respect and protection.
The King County Bar has a long tradition of seeing to it that all points of view are fairly represented, and that every individual has an opportunity to be heard. It has been a great privilege to sit for nearly 15 years as one of your judges. Thank you very much!
Judge Terry Lukens, King County Superior Court 1999 - 2005
Life is a series of transitions, and as I move on to the next phase of my career, it is time to reflect on my years as a Superior Court Judge.
When I was appointed to the Court in 1999, I brought with me twenty-five years of practice as a commercial lawyer with Karr Tuttle Campbell, as well as extensive public service including terms as a Bellevue councilmember and mayor. Following an intensive training program, which was the best CLE I have experienced, I spent the first two years of my career on the criminal calendar. That was followed by a year as the Chief Judge of the Regional Justice Center and then three years on the civil calendar. I was privileged to be an elected member of the Court’s Executive Committee and chair of the Budget Committee as we struggled to maintain basic services in the face of declining revenues.
So how do I rate my experience? Hearing cases as a Superior Court judge has proven both intellectually challenging and professionally collegial. The lawyers who appear before the Court are generally well prepared and their cases interesting. But above all else, the Court has a tremendous impact on the lives of litigants whose cases are resolved, and striving to meet this public trust is the most invigorating aspect of all.
As for the future, in February I will begin a new chapter in my career as a mediator and arbitrator. My particular emphasis will be on construction, commercial law and real estate, the areas of my practice as an attorney and the subject of extensive experience as a judge. Public service remains a personal passion, and I will be seeking ways to continue serving the people and communities of the Puget Sound region. n
Richard Eadie is the Presiding Judge of the King County Superior Court.
