Three more lawyers filed for a vacant state Court of Appeals seat on Friday, bringing to seven the number who will face off in a winner-take-all election Nov. 8
Throwing their names in the hat on Friday were civil defense attorney Harold Field of Brier and Edmonds lawyers Michael Hall and David Freese.
Field said his “experience, love for the law and philosophy of judicial restraint make me well qualified to sit on the Court of Appeals.”
He has worked mainly as a lawyer defending personal injury actions, and has argued about two dozen cases before the Court of Appeals.
At the beginning of his career, Field worked as an intern in the Snohomish County prosecutor’s office trying misdemeanor and traffic cases in District Court.
Hall is a general practice lawyer who has been a pro tem judge for Edmonds Municipal Court and a strong proponent of mediation dispute resolution. He sees mediation as a way to reduce the caseload courts currently face. He has run for Snohomish County Superior Court three times and lost.
Freese has a varied background in law, with 31 years of experience. In recent years, he has concentrated on tax and bankruptcy law.
He started out in the military defending and prosecuting military personnel, obtained a master’s degree in tax law and settled in Snohomish County 25 years ago.
He said his broad legal experience qualify him for the post. Challenges in his personal life also help him make decisions based on real life, he said. His home burned down in 2000.
“I think the appellate decisions that seem to surprise people come from judges who appear to be disconnected from reality or are working from some agenda,” Freese said.
Hall couldn’t be reached for comment Friday evening.
The three filed for the job on the last day of a special filing period to replace Judge Faye Kennedy, who died last week after a long illness. Whoever wins Nov. 8 will serve out the five remaining years of her term.
The seven candidates will be in a rare donnybrook for an elected position because there will be no primary ballot to whittle down the field.
Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Steve Dwyer, veteran deputy prosecutor Seth Fine, former Superior Court Judge David Hubert and J. Robert Leach, a partner in the Anderson Hunter law firm, also are vying for the position.
The seven candidates are seeking a seat on Division 1 of the appeals court, a job that pays nearly $140,000 a year. Only Snohomish County lawyers are eligible. The Court of Appeals handles the bulk of challenges from Superior Court decisions.
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.
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