EVERETT — Two Snohomish County judges on the November ballot are looking to earn a seat on the Division 1 Court of Appeals.
Judges on the Court of Appeals hear cases on a three-judge panel and decide whether to reverse, remand, modify or affirm rulings made in lower courts.
Division 1 makes up King, Snohomish, Island, San Juan, Skagit and Whatcom counties. Two of the 10 judges on Division 1 are elected in Snohomish County. Appeals court judges serve six-year terms and earn $249,417 per year.
Tam Bui
Bui, 58, has served as a Snohomish County District Court judge since 2007.
She has previously worked as a public defender, representing indigent defendants by appealing municipal courts rulings to superior courts. Bui also worked for the Washington Appellate Defender Association, handing appeals at the court of appeals level. She also served as an administrative law judge, which rules strictly over civil cases, before becoming a district court judge.
Bui said her prior experience working at the appellate level, as well as her time serving as a district court judge, contributed to her qualifications to serve as an appellate judge. The decision-making process is different from an individual judge making a ruling, as the appellate process is more collaborative, she said.
“It brings in teamwork, it brings in collaboration, it brings in the ability to listen to your colleagues,” Bui said. “In my experience, I’ve worked with Supreme Court justices, I’ve worked with appellate court justices, trial court justices from all over the state. I work with community organizations, nonprofits, social service agencies. That’s the kind of depth and breadth that not only gives me a broader understanding of what I bring up to the Court of Appeals, but it’s also that teamwork and collaboration.”
She also said the exposure and experiences a judge has had over time are important. As an example, she said her background as a refugee from Vietnam could add to discussions over certain cases.
“When I look at pieces that may touch upon aspects of that, that’s what I can bring to the conversation,” Bui said. “When I have that conversation with two other judges that may not have that experience, it just enriches the discussion in order to come to a decision that is going to maintain and achieve the trust and confidence of the public.”
Bui said she has a focus on making decisions that are fair and equitable. She touted her experience serving on the Board for Judicial Administration, which develops policy to enhance the administration of Washington’s courts. In her role on the board’s education committee, she said she led a measure to require diversity, equity and inclusion training for judicial officers.
“All of that involvement carries over to my conducting a fair and impartial courtroom,” Bui said.
Involving the public is also an important aspect of the role, she said. Bui teaches civics at a local high school and hopes to include people with lived experiences as part of judicial education sessions.
“It’s fine to include subject matter experts, but experts are more than just law professors, attorneys, fellow judges. It involves the people who have felt the impact of your decision making,” she said.
Bui has been endorsed by the Snohomish County Democrats, the Snohomish County Deputy Sheriffs Association, the Snohomish and Island County Labor Council, the National Women’s Political Caucus of Washington, the Snohomish County Republican Women’s Club and the local machinists union. She’s also been endorsed by State Sens. Manka Dhingra, Marko Liias and John Lovick, State Reps. April Berg, Carolyn Eslick, Lillian Ortiz-Self and Cindy Ryu, and Snohomish County Council members Megan Dunn, Jared Mead, Sam Low and Strom Peterson, along with four appellate court judges and seven supreme court judges, among others.
Bui has raised $40,365 in campaign contributions as of Friday.
Karen Moore
Moore, 61, has served as a Snohomish County Superior Court judge since 2021.
Before becoming a judge, Moore had worked as a practicing lawyer for three decades. She spent time as a prosecutor in Pierce County and Snohomish County before moving on to a civil firm to practice primarily family law.
While working as a prosecutor and a private attorney, Moore spent lots of time in appellate courts, she said, arguing cases in front of the Court of Appeals and the state Supreme Court. That experience gave her a breadth of knowledge over the different types of cases and decisions that must be made at the appellate level, she said.
“All of those experiences inform not only my knowledge of the different areas of the law that come before the appellate court, but informs my understanding of how important those appellate decisions are for stability,” Moore said.
As a judge, Moore said she already incorporates collaboration and teamwork as part of her decision making. She said that teamwork-based approach — as well as an open mind to listen to opinions other than her own — will translate well to the three-judge panels present at the appellate level.
“I think this will be an asset to me coming to the appellate court, because fundamentally, I think it’s really about always wanting to get to the right answer,” Moore said.
She said judges must be vigilant and check themselves if they aware if they feel any preconceived bias toward a particular case. Another important aspect of working on the appellate court, Moore added, is keeping up with cases in the neighboring Divisions 2 and 3, where rulings can carry persuasive authority — meaning they have some authoritative weight but do not bind a court to a particular decision.
“It’s important to keep abreast of what else is going on and being aware of trends or different ways of looking at a particular issue you might be looking at,” Moore said.
Moore said she all of her experience, from family law to serving on the superior court, has informed her about the need for hearing both sides and making her reasoning clear in rulings.
“When I’m writing opinions or giving decisions, I really try to explain why I’m doing what I’m doing, so people feel like they’ve been heard,” she said.
Moore serves on multiple committees relating to judicial rule-making and also spends time helping with the YMCA’s Youth Mock Trial program and teaches a law class at an alternative high school in Everett.
Moore has been endorsed by the Snohomish County Democrats, the Snohomish County Deputy Sheriffs Association, Snohomish County Indivisible, the National Women’s Political Caucus of Washington and the local ironworkers union. She’s also received endorsements from Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers, Snohomish County Sheriff Susanna Johnson, Snohomish County Council members Megan Dunn, Sam Low, Jared Mead and Strom Peterson, State Sens. June Robinson and Marko Liias, State Reps. April Berg, Julio Cortes and Davina Duerr, along with a number of current and former judges, among others. Members of the Snohomish County Bar Association also favored Moore in a poll.
Moore has raised $76,189 in campaign contributions as of Friday.
Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.
Correction: A previous version of this article stated the incorrect court Judge Tam Bui serves in. She is a judge in Snohomish County District Court, not Snohomish County Superior Court.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
