Judge leaves big shoes to fill

EDMONDS — Joe Thibodeau, the family man, successfully helped raise four children with firm and loving discipline.

Sometimes he coached a daughter’s basketball team at Holy Rosary School here. Sometimes he was active in his children’s activities at Blanchet High School in Seattle.

It was the same recipe — love and discipline and involvement — with which Joseph A. Thibodeau, the Snohomish County Superior Court judge, influenced the lives of dozens of teenagers who became addicted to drugs and appeared before him over the past four years in a drug court.

This pattern has been followed in an 18-year career on the bench to permeate thousands of other judicial decisions, a career that officially ends Jan. 5. Thibodeau, 63, announced his decision to step down in November, setting off a stampede of lawyers who want to succeed him.

But those who know Thibodeau say whoever is appointed by Gov. Gary Locke to replace him will have big shoes to fill.

"He’s one of the best," Everett lawyer Thomas Adams said. "He listens to cases. He’s involved in the process, and I think the most important thing is when we walk out of a trial with Judge Thibodeau you know your client has had their day in court."

Civil defense lawyer Richard Johnson said he’s sorry Thibodeau is leaving.

"Joe gave reasons for his decisions, and you never had a reason to think he wasn’t right on," Johnson said. "The guy has a hell of a legal mind."

Thibodeau was instrumental in establishing a Juvenile Offender Drug Treatment Court four years ago at the Denney Juvenile Justice Center in Everett and presided over it almost every Friday. The program is for young addicts, many who are failing in school and have faint hope of being a success if they remain on their present course.

"He presides over drug court with integrity," said Dawn Williams, Juvenile Court treatment supervisor. "He has compassion, and he sets just an amazing example for the kids. He raises the bar and expects them to reach excellence. And he’s always there for them if they face defeat."

Thibodeau recalls one youth who was being raised by a single mother. The teen then used drugs while enrolled in drug court. Thibodeau put the boy in detention for the weekend.

"That got his attention," Thibodeau said in a recent interview. "He had no chance of even graduating from high school at one time."

The now the third-year Central Washington University student appeared at a recent going-away function for the judge. The youth, who wants to be a teacher, asked the judge to promise to attend his graduation, and Thibodeau said he would.

The drug court has been effective. Williams said there have been 50 graduates. None who have completed the program has been arrested for committing felony crimes, she said.

The idea, Thibodeau said, is to make young drug offenders realize they are on a self-destructive path and encourage them to use whatever talents they have to climb back into society’s mainstream.

Thibodeau has been more than a mentor to just teenagers. Even fellow judges came to him for help, Superior Court Judge Ronald Castleberry said.

"We all went up to him for advice," Castleberry said. "Most of the time we had the right answer, but we wanted to make sure we were on the right track."

Thibodeau’s family came from Juneau, Alaska, to the Seattle area when he was in the eighth grade. He attended Seattle Prep High School and then St. Martin’s College in Lacey. He graduated from Spokane’s Gonzaga University Law School before becoming a deputy clerk for the State Supreme Court.

He was one of the first commissioners hired at the Court of Appeals, helping to ease the workload of the judges there. He continued to blaze trails when he became one of the first court commissioners for the appeals court to jump to the Superior Court bench.

"That’s one of his characteristics," former King County Superior Court Larry Jordan said. "He’s always been a leader. He’s always out front."

Over the years, Thibodeau has had a hand in many high-profile cases, and signed the death warrant in 2001 for James Elledge, a convicted murderer who was executed at Walla Walla.

One aspect of the case was his sole regret in his long career.

Elledge, who wanted to die, waived a jury trial. Thibodeau granted that and found him guilty.

Elledge also wanted to waive a jury on the punishment portion, which juries normally rule on in capital cases. Thibodeau chose to let a jury decide Elledge’s fate. The defendant stood before the jury and asked to be executed. It complied.

Thibodeau now questions letting a jury make the decision.

"If I had to do it over again, I probably would have given him life (without release) instead of death," he said.

Thibodeau also presided over the case of Noreen Erlandson, a Bothell-area nurse convicted of murder in the 1991 death of her 2-year-old adopted daughter. Thibodeau sentenced her to 40 years in prison.

Last week, Thibodeau recalled that he called children "our special gifts" when he sentenced Erlandson in 1992 to an exceptionally long sentence.

He knows he’s well-respected in the legal community because lawyers seldom file "affidavits of prejudice" to remove him from their cases. Eleven such affidavits have been filed over 18 years. Some judges have that many or more a year.

His work at the Court of Appeals also made him careful not to create legal errors that would result in new trials. He said he has never been ordered to give someone a new trial.

Thibodeau sought the difficult legal cases but said every one was a challenge. And every case was an honor for him to try, he added.

Sometimes his humor would erupt. More likely somebody would try his patience, prompting stern admonitions. More than once, he warned lawyers to get their checkbooks out for fines if they continued talking among themselves during long court calendars.

Castleberry had high praise for the retiring judge.

"He made a difference in so many people’s lives that he touched," Castleberry said. "I guess that’s what made him such an outstanding judge."

Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.