Locke urges judges not to drink in public

BLAINE — Gov. Gary Locke, in a valedictory to the judiciary, on Monday urged judges to take the pledge against drinking in public — or at least to hold themselves to a single drink.

Locke advocated a "stringent and even harsh standard of conduct," which he said could apply to all elected officials, as part of his prescription for building public confidence in the courts.

Locke, a Democrat leaving office after eight years, spoke at the state Superior Court Judges Association, gathered for a four-day conference at Semi-ah-Moo resort. In the audience was Supreme Court Justice Bobbe Bridge, who received deferred prosecution and treatment after an arrest for drunken driving last year. She wasn’t mentioned by name by the governor, an old friend who appointed her to the bench.

"I couldn’t agree more," Bridge told The Associated Press after Locke’s speech.

Locke’s speech also jabbed at the U.S. Supreme Court for placing George Bush in office and said the federal Patriot Act reminded the governor of the internment of the Japanese during World War II.

Locke said public drinking undermines public confidence in judges.

"Few professions carry a greater obligation for care in public conduct. Compromises in your perceived integrity reflect not only on you as individual jurists, but on our entire judicial system," he said.

Locke also urged judges to do a better job of explaining the court system to the general public. Sometimes all people know about courts is what they see on TV or when a judge is forced to throw out a popular law, he said.

Locke, a Yale-educated attorney and former deputy King County prosecutor, said in an interview that his judicial appointments — 54 so far — will be one of his best legacies. He said he looked for first-rate minds, not politics or connections, to find his appointees.

Locke said nearly half of his appointees are women and about a fifth are minorities. He said that’s a good percentage, but not good enough. The makeup really should represent not only the population numbers but also the profile of the defendants who show up in court, he said.

Locke said the resolution of the disputed 2000 presidential election via the courts, rather than the streets, was a triumph of the legal system. The U.S. Supreme Court sided with Bush in a 5-4 decision that gave him the election.

"Being a Democrat, I would add ‘Wrong result, wrong reasoning!’ " he added.

Locke also criticized the Patriot Act, approved in the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001. Apparently referring to detainment of suspected enemy combatants, he said the law reminds him of the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.