Tacoma News Tribune

Endorsements

For FWay court: York, Robertson

The News Tribune

Thursday, July 23, 2009 — There’s no mystery why Federal Way Municipal Court Judge Michael Morgan faces five challengers on the city’s Aug. 18 primary ballot.

Morgan is dragging an iron ball and heavy baggage into his quest for a second four-year term.

The ball chained to his ankle is the reprimand he got in December from the state Commission on Judicial Conduct. The commission scolded him for making threatening remarks and discussing sexual matters with the municipal court staff.

The baggage is a broader public perception that the court has lost its way since it was created 10 years ago. Its troubles have included the commission’s severe 2007 censure of former Judge Colleen Hartl, who subsequently resigned.

Morgan can’t be blamed for Hartl’s misconduct and some of the court’s other problems. But his sometimes high-handed treatment of subordinates didn’t make things better.

We’ve yet to see serious allegations that Morgan is mishandling the cases he decides. In the courtroom, he appears to be a competent judge. But it’s hard to get past that reprimand, especially considering the caliber of his two top opponents.

We endorse both Matthew York and Rebecca Robertson in next month’s primary. Either would make an excellent judge, and both are young enough to be come long-term assets on the bench.

York is a King County deputy prosecutor who has also been serving as a substitute “pro tem” municipal judge. Even for a seasoned prosecutor, he has an impressive command of criminal law; he’s developed a recognized expertise in Fourth Amendment search and seizure issues, and arrest procedures.

Robertson is also a prosecutor, albeit for the Seattle City Attorney’s Office. Like York, she is exceptionally smart and well-prepared; she has also been serving as a pro-tem judge, handling the kind of cases that come before the Federal Way court.

A primary that winnowed the field to these two candidates would guarantee a stronger Federal Way Municipal Court.

Of the other three candidates – James Santucci, Bill Jarvis and Mark Knapp – Santucci has the broadest background and best preparation for the bench. A long-time Federal Way lawyer, he’d be the best choice for citizens who consider it essential that a judge reside from within city limits. (York lives in SeaTac; Robertson lives where she now works, in Seattle.)

Washington law, however, doesn’t require that judicial candidates live within the jurisdiction of the position they’re seeking. For good reason: When it comes to picking judges, voters should be able to cast a wide net for the best possible candidates. But no law, of course, prevents a good judge from moving to Federal Way.

VotingforJudges.org, P.O. Box 1460, Silverdale, WA  98383
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