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Bill would add third Superior Court judge
Proposed measure wouM
provide 'flexibility' on bench
By NATALIE JOHNSON
natalie@masoncounty.com
Mason County Superior Court might
soon get a third judge, which officials
say could help the court resolve crimi-
nal and civil cases more efficiently.
"We are asking for a third Superior
Court judge for flexibility," said Judge
Amber Finlay.
Senate Bill 5981, which adds a third
judge to Mason County Superior Court,
was forwarded Jan. 23 to the Senate
Rules Committee for a second reading.
The bill was sponsored by Sens. Tim
Sheldon, D-Potlach, Adam Kline, D-Se-
attle, Mike Hewitt, R-Walla Walla and
Bruce Dammeier, R-Puyallup, by a re-
quest from the state Board for Judicial
Administration.
Tim Sheldon, who is Toni Sheldon's
borther, said the bill could come up
for a vote Wednesday, after the Mason
County Journal's press time.
Finlay, along with fellow Superior
Court Judge Toni Sheldon, said Mason
County needs a third judge to cope with
11 court calendars. These calendars in-
clude criminal, civil and drug court, and
a high number of cases that proceed to
trial compared with similar counties.
As of Nov. 30, 2013, Mason County
had 53 criminal trials proceed to court,
significantly more than other counties
with two judges. At that time, Island
County had eight criminal trials, Okan-
ogan had nine, Walla Walla had 16 and
Kittitas had 18.
Since 2008, Mason County has con-
sistently conducted between two and
six times more criminal trials than
Journal photo by Natalie Johnson
Mason County Superior Court Judge Toni Sheldon presides over the
criminal calendar Monday morning. The state Legislature is considering a
bill that would add a third Superior Court judge for Mason County.
"There are a lot of civil (and) domestic
cases that aren't getting out as quickly
as they should."
Amber Finlay, Mason County Superior Court judge
Walla Walla County, which, like Ma-
son County, has a population of about
60,000, according to Sheldon and Fin-
lay.
Mason County last added a Supe-
rior Court judge in 1992, and has had
two elected Superior Court judges ever
since.
"Mason County has always had a
large number of criminal trials," Finlay
said. "If you have a county that has a
lot more trials, it's harder tbr us to get
the rest of those cases to resolution ...
There are a lot of civil (and) domestic
cases that aren't getting out as quickly
as they should."
According to a summary of the bill
presented Jan. 15 to the Senate Com-
mittee on Law & Justice, 67 percent of
civil trials in Mason County start on
schedule.
The Washington State Administra-
tive Office of the Courts (AOC) has es-
timated that Mason County needs more
than two judges to complete its cases.
This estimate, Toni Sheldon said, does
not take into account the time it takes
to resolve each case. A seven-day trial
counts the same as a 10-minute hear-
ing, Sheldon said.
"Because this isn't new to us -- we
know we have a lot of trials -- we have
tried to make changes to make more
time in our days," Finlay said.
The judges now schedule meetings at
7:30 a.m. and noon and have eliminated
settlement conferences, status confer-
ences and the Tuesday show cause cal-
endar. Mediation is now required in all
civil cases before they head to trial.
"This is working," Sheldon said.
The county's two elected judges both
hear criminal trials, and often have to
hear civil trials in bits and pieces, when
they have time. Civil trials often get
bumped to make time for criminal tri-
als, the judges said.
"It's not an efficient way for a judge
to hear a case," Sheldon said.
Sheldon said hearing a civil case in a
piecemeal fashion is also very difficult
for the litigants in the cases, which she
said are often emotional.
Sheldon and Finlay switch off ev-
ery four months .on the criminal and
civil calendars. A full-time county court
commissioner presides over the domes-
tic calendar, dependency court, drug
court and juvenile court, among others.
They receive about $115,000 per year in
salary and benefits.
A court commissioner can preside
over most hearings, but not trials.
Sheldon and Finlay said adding a
third judge, rather than relying on a
court commissioner, might save the
county money.
Court commissioners make 75 per-
cent of the salary of a judge, and the
county pays for their salary and ben-
efits. The state will pay half of a judge's
salary and all of their benefits, Finlay
said.
If the bill is passed by both the state
House and Senate, the third judge
would likely start in 2015, and would
be appointed by Gov. Jay Inslee.
The position would then be up for
election in the next general election, in
2016.
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c R E O N
LENDER
Page A-8 - MasonCounty Journal - Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014