As you read this, we are past the summer and are in the throws of a busy fall season. What I appreciate is in many cultures that follow a lunar calendar, the fall is a time for a new year and renewal. 

Some of you may know that I like to play cards. I play Pinochle, Euchre, Hearts, Rummy, Cribbage and many others. I have a Cribbage App on my phone which I often play to relax and turn my brain off. It is a way for me to focus my attention away from emails, texts, and all the other daily pressures we face. 

It is a few days after Juneteenth as I write this column. It is an important day, a day to commemorate the ending of slavery in the United States. Of course, it symbolizes much more than one day. On its face, it was a day in 1865 in Texas when emancipation would be enforced 900 days after emancipation was first announced. The Confederate States surrendered on April 9, 1865, two months before emancipation in Texas. And still, there were enslaved people in states that did not secede and they were not freed until the ratification of the 13th Amendment on December 6, 1865.

My father was an engineer. My mother was trained as a scientist and always had a mind for numbers. My parents always taught me to be analytical in trying to solve a problem and be efficient when you have multiple problem sets.

For those of you who swear, you understand. Sometimes you experience something that makes you swear. I have been known to swear on the pitch, in my car, or when I stub my toe on a chair. We have all been there. Once, as a young soccer player on my college team, recently being promoted to start, I missed a very simple backwards pass trap. The ball went under my foot as I looked away, my opponent quickly pounced on my mistake and took the ball the other way. #$%&* quickly rang out of my mouth near our bench. The coach immediately subbed me out (I am sure for my swearing because I had made other mistakes, and he did not sub me out) and I fumed on the sideline about my careless mistake. I used to swear when in law school in Minnesota when the wind chill was negative 50 degrees as I walked from my car to the law building. I was convinced my swearing would warm me up, but sadly, only my mouth heated up.

I am a game player. Whether it is cards, board games, or even playground games like hide and seek, I am all in. The idea that you play, you have rules, you compete and there is a conclusion to the game is very satisfying.

Greetings, I hope as you transition to spring, you enjoy some last moments of snow (as little as we have received this year!). We have two judicial colleagues to introduce and are excited for them to join our bench. We have also received new data on last year’s cases and what we can look forward to.

Greetings, now that we have started 2024, I hope it is a prosperous and healthy year for you and your families. We have started the new year with a short legislative period and many proposed laws that will affect all of us. We have a superb team assisting us in advocating for the courts both at a local level and at a state level through the Superior Court Judges Association. Comprising one of our biggest concerns are changes in law that affect our operations and result in increased filings and calendars. 

Greetings, I am writing my first column as King County Superior Court Presiding Judge. First, I want to thank Judge Oishi as our former Presiding Judge. He led our Court as we came out of the pandemic and led us through many twists and turns. We ramped back up to deal with the backlog of cases but also pivoted during flare ups of the virus. He worked with KCBA to get us back to doing in-person swearing in ceremonies for new attorneys and our first in-person bench-bar conference since the pandemic. His December column discussed all that was accomplished during his tenure, so I won’t duplicate that, but what I am most appreciative of is how inclusive he was with me and our entire Court. For that, I am very grateful and I know our Court is very grateful for all that he has done.

Aloha from King County Superior Court. My term as Presiding Judge ends at the beginning of 2024, and this will be my final PJ column.