North Kitsap Herald

Endorsements

Kitsap County Superior Court judge, Court 7

July 28, 2012 — There are four fine candidates for Kitsap County Superior Court judge, Court 7, but Jennifer Forbes and Bill Houser stand out in their experience and their vision of how to improve the efficiency of the Superior Court system.

Forbes has been a county prosecutor and served as a pro-tem judge for seven years on the local District Court and Municipal Court benches. She also serves as a Bremerton court commissioner. Houser is a county public defender who has also been a pro-tem judge in Kitsap County and a part-time judge in Oregon, and is the only candidate who as an attorney has handled a death penalty case.

Superior Court judges are paid $148,832 per year, a cost shared by state and county. Superior Court judges preside over felony trials, domestic relations matters, juvenile proceedings and probate. They handle real estate disputes and civil claims valued at over $50,000. They consider appeals in land-use cases and appeals from lower courts, and preside over mental inquest hearings.

In separate interviews with members of the Herald editorial board, Forbes and Houser spoke about the growing number of civil litigants who are representing themselves, called “pro se,” because they can’t afford an attorney; the right to an attorney applies only to criminal cases. Court rules apply equally to attorneys and pro se litigants.

Their suggestions: Make sure the process and procedures are understandable, and have a separate calendar for cases in which both sides are represented pro se.

Other suggestions: Establish a system by which Superior Court cases to be filed electronically, as in District Court. “E-filing saves people money and it’s more efficient,” Forbes said. “Every time I file a case in Pierce County, I do a cartwheel because it’s so easy.”

Recidivism of cases that go through Drug Court is 5 percent. Both would like to see similar courts developed to handle cases involving veterans and those with mental health issues. “Mental health should not be dealt with in criminal court,” Houser said.

Forbes and Houser see the court as an administrator of justice as well as a resolver of disputes. Both should advance to the Nov. 6 general election.

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