SEATTLE – The smile on Stephen Dwyer’s face reflected more than just pride in starting a new job.
To Dwyer, it’s the job: the one he had aspired to since graduating from law school.
“This is a job I always had an interest in and always had a desire to return to after I came on as a law clerk here right out of law school,” he said.
On Thursday, the former Snohomish County Superior Court judge was sworn in as one of 10 judges on Division 1 of the state Court of Appeals.
Dwyer, 48, won the right to the position by besting six other candidates who filed for election in November to replace the late Faye Kennedy of Everett. Kennedy died in September.
The newest member of the Court of Appeals served less than two years on the Superior Court bench. Before that, he served nine years as a Snohomish County District Court judge in Lynnwood, and was a member of the Edmonds City Council for 11 years.
He took office in front of a small group of friends and family members in his new chambers on the 26th floor of the One Union Square Building in downtown Seattle.
Carol McRae, with whom he had served on the bench in Lynnwood, administered the oath of office.
“She’s my best friend in the judiciary, so it’s nice to have her do it,” Dwyer said.
He will serve five years, the remainder of Kennedy’s term, in the $140,000-a-year job that reviews appeals from the Superior Court.
The new term starts in January, and in the meantime Dwyer will be reading a lot of legal paperwork on cases that will be argued before him later.
Dwyer has made no bones about having his sights set on the Court of Appeals job, telling reporters and even former Gov. Gary Locke before Locke appointed him to the Superior Court bench.
Locke supported Dwyer during an abbreviated campaign for the appeals court job.
“I think that when people have goals, they also have incentives to do their work well. I think I did my work well for 22 months,” Dwyer said of his Superior Court tenure.
Appeals court judges have less contact with the public than those on the trial court bench. He said he will miss that.
“Once in a while, you could see you’ve made a positive impact on someone’s life,” Dwyer said.
To anyone who is disappointed that he left the Snohomish County bench after a relatively short time, he said people like to be encouraged in everything they do, but “that’s not real life, and I understand that. The public expected me to work hard, and I did.”
The hard work won’t end.
“This is a job where you could hide and let others do your lifting,” Dwyer said. “I’ll do my part and then some.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
