Phillip Tavel

King County District Court

West Division, Position Two

Phillip Tavel Education: B.A in Physics (with Honors) Vassar College (1993), J.D Benjamin Cardozo School of Law (1998)

Occupation: Public Defender, King County and Private Attorney

Statement: I will bring integrity back to this court and end the pattern of ethical violations by my opponent.

I’m a Pro Tem Judge and have been a Public Defender for 10 years. I’ve represented thousands of people and appeared before more than 70 judges statewide. I have tried cases from DUIs to Murder. My experience includes family law, intellectual property law, immigration law, contracts, civil litigation, and working extensively with King County's many diverse communities.

The Cardozo Society has rated me as being Well Qualified.

My opponent is the only seated District Court Judge to be sanctioned multiple times for ethical violations by the Washington Commission on Judicial Conduct. He’s earned the lowest performance ratings of all King County District Court Judges (rated below Acceptable in 3 of 4 categories) and has run unopposed for 24 years.

I’ve worked for the National Science Foundation and was a physics professor before attending law school. I have the experience to responsibly handle technology related issues in our courts. I volunteer in our community for Rotary, CASA, SEED Arts and the YMCA. I bring a passion for justice and a commitment to upholding the integrity of the Court.

I ask for your vote.

Official web site: www.givethegaveltotavel.com | Facebook

Opponent: Mark Chow

Candidate ratings:

ORGANIZATION	MARK CHOW	PHILLIP TAVEL
Cardozo Society	*	Well Qualified
King County Bar Association	Well Qualified	Not Qualified
Joint Asian Judicial Evaluations Committee	*	Qualified
Latina/o Bar Association of Washington	*	Qualified
Loren Miller Bar Association	Exceptionally Well Qualified	*
QLaw: The GLBT Bar Association of Washington	*	Exceptionally Well Qualified
Washington Women Lawyers	*	*

Important note! Each of these organizations uses its own standards and rating terms when evaluating candidates; please check their pages for further information. We do not have ratings for candidates with an asterisk (*), and the reasons vary. Some evaluations may still be in process, or we might not have received them yet; some candidates may not have been offered an opportunity to participate, or they may have declined to participate.

Newspaper endorsements (click paper for details):

NEWSPAPER	MARK CHOW	PHILLIP TAVEL
Seattle Times
The Stranger

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