Superior Court Judge, Position 6: Court experience vs. life experience

EVERETT -- A career deputy prosecutor and a private-practice lawyer with deep local roots are vying to become the next Superior Court judge in Snohomish County.

The judicial face off between George Appel and Joe Wilson is one of the most hotly contested local races of the election.

Judge Richard Thorpe plans to retire at the end of the year, leaving open Snohomish County Superior Court judge, Position 6. Appel and Wilson emerged as the top two vote-getters in the Aug. 19 primary.

Appel says his years of trial work set him apart. Wilson says what he's also done outside the courtroom gives him the advantage.

Appel, 43, of Marysville, was hired in 1994 to the Snohomish County prosecutor's office, where he is a senior deputy prosecutor. He's prosecuted homicides, rapes, and drug and theft cases, assaults and drunken driving cases. He also worked in the office's appeals unit and argued cases in the state Court of Appeals.

Appel topped Wilson in the primary election and in the Snohomish County Bar Association poll. He is endorsed by the Snohomish County Deputy Sheriff's Association and other police and fire unions around the county. He also is supported by state Attorney General Rob McKenna and County Prosecutor Janice Ellis.

Wilson, 47, of Everett, opened his own law practice in 1995. He grew up in Everett and his father was a Superior Court judge here.

Wilson was a bailiff in the state Court of Appeals in Eastern Washington. He later was a law clerk for Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Larry McKeeman.

Wilson said his practice is varied, including family law, criminal defense, real estate and probate work, but says it's his work in the community that sets him apart.

He's volunteered since 1996 with Snohomish County Legal Services, providing legal counsel to low-income clients. He also was the first male board member of the Center for Battered Women. He serves on the feasibility committee for Dawson Place, a child advocacy center.

Wilson is endorsed by the majority of the current Superior Court bench. He also is endorsed by Sheriff John Lovick and Snohomish County Democrats.

Wilson said his life experiences also have prepared him for the bench.

He's worked as a janitor, painted Everett city trucks, sold ice cream cones at Dairy Queen, and worked on a fishing boat and in a morgue, he said.