Public Service Where the Action Is
My friend and colleague, Judge Kristin Richardson, has quietly and humbly served us well in her public service career both in the King County Prosecutor’s Office for 29 years and on the King County Superior Court bench since 2017. Knowing Judge Richardson as a total non-self-promoter, I submit this profile to thank Judge Richardson for her work and to hopefully inspire others into public service.
Judge Richardson attended Washington State University envisioning a career in medicine, however, she quickly realized after an unsuccessful freshman anatomy class that she needed to look in another direction. With solid advice from her sister, suggesting that she take a writing class to ease her mind before making a second attempt at anatomy, Judge Richardson stepped into the WSU Edward R. Murrow Communications building thinking that she might find an interesting writing course available there. Six weeks later, Judge Richardson was a Communications/Journalism major and on the way to a career as a journalist.
While attending WSU, Judge Richardson served as the Editor of The Daily Evergreen and interned for the LaGrande Oregon, Observer. After graduating in 1982, she briefly interned for the Spokane Spokesman Review and then wrote for the Associated Press before returning to the Spokane Spokesman-Review as a General Assignment Reporter.
It was through journalism that Judge Richardson found her career in law. She covered the “Cops and Courts” beat in Spokane and was drawn to the justice system through watching real life stories unfold in courtrooms. Trial attorneys with whom she spoke were colorful and generous with their time in talking about their cases. Prosecutors were particularly forthcoming and significantly influenced her subsequent career.
Impacted by her journalist experience in the Spokane County Courthouse, Judge Richardson initially considered attending law school solely to better understand the trial process so that she could help readers understand how our justice system works. With this mindset, Judge Richardson enrolled on a scholarship in the Willamette College School of Law in Salem, Oregon. While attending, Judge Richardson excelled as a Regional Moot Court Champion and served as Executive Editor of the Willamette Law Review. At graduation in 1989, Judge Richardson was recognized as an Outstanding Graduate by the International Association of Trial Lawyers.
Primarily interested in criminal law, Judge Richardson, in her second year of law school, sought a position as a Rule 9 summer intern in the King County Prosecutor’s Office because she heard it was likely the fastest route into courtroom work. She was right. Upon accepting the internship, she found herself in short order as the sole Deputy Prosecutor in the Renton District Court. In that summer alone, Judge Richardson completed 20 or so trials (bench and jury). Exhilarated but exhausted when she left in the fall to return for her 3rd year of school, she thought to herself, “You could offer me a million dollars and I would not take this as a permanent job. Just too stressful, waking up every night at 3 AM worried about what might happen in trial the next day.” However, when King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng offered her a position as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney upon graduation in 1989, the exhilaration of trial work erased this recollection of stress. Judge Richardson took the job without hesitation and has not looked back from the courtroom since.
Interestingly, Judge Richardson recalls that the women’s courtroom uniform of the day when she started in 1989 as a full time King County Deputy Prosecutor consisted of a pleated skirt, a silk blouse, a double-breasted suit jacket and a bow at the neck to stand in for a man’s tie.”
As a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney and as a Senior Deputy in her 29 years before stepping up to the bench, Judge Richardson served and/or supervised Trial Teams, the Special Assault Unit, the Early Plea Unit, the Drug Unit, the Filing Unit, the Cold Case Unit and the Most Dangerous Offender Program (MDOP). In all of these roles, Judge Richardson was the consummate team player serving wherever she was assigned without complaint while always finding the time to support other Deputy Prosecutors, actively serve on in-office committees, and volunteer with Washington Women Lawyers.
Trial Work
In the KC Prosecutor’s Office, Judge Richardson tried more than 100 jury trials; 25 of which were homicides. She was known as a prosecutor willing to take the hard cases to trial, including circumstantial evidence and no-body found homicide cases. She recalls being consumed every working hour on these cases trying to think of just one more little piece of evidence that could complete the puzzle for the jury. Judge Richardson was thoroughly prepared for any eventuality in trial, and those of you who are trial lawyers know too well, that anything and everything can happen in trial. Former colleagues in the PAO universally agree that no one came to court more prepared than Judge Richardson. Former colleagues also agree that Judge Richardson always welcomed the opportunity to have newer Deputy Prosecutors join her in trial as co-counsel to help develop their talents and skills. Many great King County trial lawyers (criminal and civil) learned a lot from Judge Richardson.
Significantly, Judge Richardson was the go-to prosecutor to take on cases involving victims that were unable or too frightened to speak for themselves. Judge Richardson advocated for victims both in filing decisions and in trial. Work on cases supporting marginalized victims was particularly fulfilling for Judge Richardson. She found some victims and families astonished that a prosecutor cared enough about what happened in their lives to help them seek justice for themselves and/or their loved ones. Judge Richardson worked closely with victims and family members and was compassionate yet direct in explaining what to expect in the process.
Judge Richardson’s core belief is that everyone deserves justice, regardless of which way it lands.
Cold Case Prosecution
Judge Richardson is perhaps best known as a prosecutor for taking tough cases to trial including prosecuting cold case homicides.
Under the direction of Prosecuting Attorney Norm Maleng and with now retired Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys Jeff Baird, Tim Bradshaw, and Steve Fogg, the KC Prosecutor’s Office established a cold case focused unit in 2006. Judge Richardson led this unit with great success. From a created database of more than 100 cases more than 20 charges were filed and pursued. Judge Richardson strongly believed in the importance of this work and she, with office approval, continued with cold case prosecution in her spare time even after the unit was unfortunately disbanded because of necessary office budget cuts. Through this “spare time” work, additional cold cases came to life.
The Bench
Despite shielding herself to the extent possible from the emotional impact of victim focused trial work, Judge Richardson was ready for a change after 29 years in the Prosecutor’s Office. Still wanting to be in a courtroom and with experience carefully assessing cases from both sides during her career, Judge Richardson sought a position on the King County Superior Court bench. After a contested election in 2016, she started her first term on the bench on January 9, 2017.
On the bench, Judge Richardson has served on Family Law, Criminal, Civil and Juvenile/Dependency rotations. Just as she did in the Prosecutor’s Office, Judge Richardson has served wherever she has been assigned without complaint and with great success.
Judge Richardson has never had appellate court aspirations. Trial court observation led her into her career and trial court work as a judge will eventually carry her out of it. Per Judge Richardson, “It was trial courtroom work or nothing for me as a lawyer,” and it still is as a judge.
Beyond handling assigned judicial rotation work and doing it well, Judge Richardson remains accessible to judicial colleagues to discuss issues. Her common sense, intelligence and trial experience give her an extraordinary understanding of evidence rule application. Judge Richardson provides tangible examples to explain the most arcane provisions of evidence rules in a way that brings rules to life.
As a judge and as a prosecutor, Judge Richardson has served our entire legal community as a member of the Washington Pattern Instructions Committee. She has been on this committee for 20 years, including three in co-chair positions. This committee meets one Saturday morning a month to create instructions that make sense explaining applicable law to the reasonable people who serve as our jurors throughout the state. This behind-the-scenes public service work makes a real difference day in and day out. Judge Richardson’s work on this committee is representative of the quiet and humble way she serves the public.
Judge Richardson’s favorite part of judicial work is simply being in court where the adrenaline continues to run as high for her now as it has since her days as an observing journalist and a Rule 9 intern.
I asked Judge Richardson if being a judge was different than she expected. She replied:
Some things are more interesting than others. And it is a ton of work. As a lawyer, when I would see the lights out in the courtroom, I assumed everyone had gone home. Little did I know that the judge was probably back in chambers, working beyond work hours.
Judge Richardson is not one to hand out unsolicited advice. When asked though, she provided the following responses to questions that I believe Bar Bulletin Readers would benefit from reading:
1. Advice that you wish someone had given you as a young lawyer:
You do not have to be perfect. But you do need to prepare for every contingency that could occur in your case. Look at it from the opponent’s view.
2. Advice that you would give to new lawyers and new judges:
APPLICABLE TO LAWYERS AND JUDGES: You can let work become your identity, or not. There is no right or wrong to that.
LAWYERS: When in trial, THINK ABOUT THE JURY. Look up from your notetaking. What is their need? What are they thinking?
JUDGES: Stop talking so much. You’re just adding to appeal issues. Take a recess if you need a moment to decide. Take a breather if you find yourself boiling over or ready to find contempt. Don’t let counsel be mean to you. Be kind to the trial lawyers that are working hard.
Remember, you are not an advocate anymore.
3. Advice that you would give litigants in your court and maybe in court in general:
Stand up when you speak to the judge. Stop wearing hoodie sweatshirts, or eating, or sitting on a bed during your Zoom hearings (all of which have happened). The lack of formality that COVID and Zoom seem to have brought on tarnishes the sacred place that is a courtroom.
4. Encouraging words for those interested in public service?
The satisfaction of doing something for the greater good is worth what it costs in pay, support, prestige, etc.
Judge Richardson exemplifies what we all want from individuals working in public service. She has humbly and quietly worked for the greater good by being exactly where she has wanted to be for the last 40 plus years — in the courtroom where the action is.
Written by King County Superior Court Judge John McHale with help from Judge Richardson’s former colleagues, Kerry Keefe, Don Raz, John Castleton and Becky Roe, and current KCSC bench colleagues, Judges Adrienne McCoy, Brian McDonald, Mindy Young and Ketu Shah.
