A court commissioner got a second vote of approval from Snohomish County lawyers in his bid for an appointment to the Superior Court bench.
Commissioner Bruce Weiss was rated by far as the top preference in a poll of Snohomish County lawyers. The ballots were counted Thursday night, and the results were released on Friday.
Weiss is one of nine attorneys seeking the position. Gov. Chris Gregoire is expected to appoint a new judge this fall.
Weiss also got the top endorsement recently of the county chapter of Washington Women Lawyers.
More than 230 lawyers participated in last week’s poll. Another 37 ballots were submitted but were tossed out because they were not filled out correctly or had other problems, Snohomish County Bar Association executive director Joyce Wood said.
Weiss got the top ranking, accumulating 301 points in a weighted counting system. Susan Gaer, a top public defender, got the second highest rating with 236 points. Third was George Appel, a deputy prosecuting attorney, with 204 points.
Weiss also got the largest number of “excellent” votes, followed in order by Gaer and Appel.
Nine lawyers are seeking appointment to the newly created judge position. The Snohomish County Council earlier this year approved funding for a 15th judge on the bench.
The cost of a judge’s salary and related expenses is shared equally by the county and state. A judge’s staff, however, is paid for by the county alone, and the total cost to the county is about $400,000. A Superior Court judge makes about $141,000 a year.
A 15th judge spot in Snohomish County has been authorized by the Legislature for a decade, but the judges didn’t ask for the spot to be filled until August.
Judges believe the addition of a judicial position will help speed hearing civil and criminal cases, and will free up judicial time to possibly start a new “therapeutic” family court modeled partly after the successful drug courts in Juvenile Court and Superior Court.
The governor is expected to use the results of the lawyer ratings to guide her in the selection of the new judge.
Others seeking the positions are lawyers Karen Moore, Mickey Krom, Elizabeth Turner, Joseph Wilson, Peter Camp and Kelly Harris.
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or jhaley@heraldnet.com.
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