State jurist’s trouble mounts

Embattled state Supreme Court Justice Richard Sanders missed a deadline this week to formally challenge a complaint against him by the state’s judicial watchdog agency. Now he faces disciplinary action that could include his removal from the bench.

Meanwhile, at least one of his supporters is digging deep into the role Snohomish County prosecutors played in leveling the initial allegations.

Sanders let a deadline pass Monday to challenge charges that he violated three rules governing judges’ behavior during his January 2003 tour of the state’s sex predator center on McNeil Island.

The complaint by the state Commission on Judicial Conduct directed Sanders to respond by April 26.

"They’re wrong about that. We may have a fight with them," said Kurt Bulmer, Sanders’ attorney. Bulmer said he would fax the response to the commission Tuesday night "to avoid controversy."

The complaint accuses Sanders of creating the appearance of impropriety by having conversations with more than 15 convicted sex offenders whose cases were pending before the state’s high court.

Sanders spoke for so long with the sex offenders that he had to take a later ferry back from the island. The commission alleged his conduct could undermine public confidence in the integrity and independence of judges.

Sanders’ failure to respond means the commission can assume he has admitted the factual allegations and can now decide his discipline, Barrie Althoff, the commission’s executive director, said Tuesday.

Sanders, of Bellevue, did not return a phone call Tuesday.

"He didn’t do anything wrong, and the commission knows it," Bulmer said.

The commission still must conduct a hearing on the case. Sanders could face sanctions, suspension or removal from the bench.

Katrina Pflaumer, a former U.S. attorney hired to represent the Commission on Judicial Conduct in its prosecution of Sanders, said the justice’s lawyers discussed a possible resolution to the complaint. No agreement was reached in those discussions, which happened before and after the charges were filed.

The complaint against Sanders was initiated in March 2003 by prosecutors in Snohomish and King counties. The local connection didn’t become public until a story in The Herald earlier this month.

That same day, James Kwon of Bellevue sent Snohomish County prosecutors a public records request seeking all e-mails sent and received by Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney Janice Ellis, dating back to January 2003.

Kwon also sought all e-mails for Mark Roe, the county’s chief criminal deputy prosecutor, and Seth Fine, the senior deputy prosecutor who oversees the appellate unit.

Prosecutors checked public records and discovered that Kwon is married to an attorney who worked as a law clerk for Sanders at the Supreme Court in the late 1990s.

On April 14, Dave Wold, the public disclosure officer for the prosecutor’s office, sent Kwon a letter explaining that meeting his request would be difficult, if not impossible.

"It would help expedite our search, and save valuable taxpayer money and resources, if you would narrow your request to specific case files or categories or records," Wold wrote. He then provided detailed instructions on how to obtain e-mail records revolving around Sanders and sex predators.

"I can assure you that limiting your request to the subject you are actually interested in will in no way limit your access to records you are seeking and will greatly shorten the time in which we are able to provide those records to you," Wold wrote.

Kwon responded on April 17 with a three-page public records request, making it clear that his interest was confined to what prosecutors may have been writing or saying about Sanders, the state Supreme Court and sexual predators.

Kwon and his wife did not respond to five telephone calls and an e-mail seeking comment.

Roe and Fine said their office is attempting to comply with the public records request, but even in its current form the request could cover more than 1,000 records.

"I’m an appellate attorney," Fine said. "Virtually every brief I write comments on cases decided by the Supreme Court."

Among the records Fine said he thinks must be copied and turned over are draft chapters of a manual he and other prosecutors have been writing about practicing appellate law in Washington.

Roe said prosecutors had concerns about Sanders’ conduct at the sex predator center and its implications for cases they had pending before the court.

They brought their concerns to the Commission on Judicial Conduct and asked Sanders to recuse himself from cases dealing with sexual predators’ challenges to the law that keeps them locked up indefinitely in the prisonlike treatment center.

Roe said prosecutors aren’t happy about spending time and effort to meet Kwon’s demands for records about Sanders. Even so, Roe said he’s not blaming Sanders for what he considers a waste of time public money.

"We are prosecutors. We deal in proof," Roe said. "Somebody is going to have to prove it to me that a justice would stoop to this. Until then, I don’t believe it."

Reporter Scott North: 425-339-3431 or north@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Customers enter and exit the Costco on Dec. 2, 2022, in Lake Stevens. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Costco stores could be impacted by looming truck driver strike threat

Truck drivers who deliver groceries and produce to Costco warehouses… Continue reading

Two Washington State ferries pass along the route between Mukilteo and Clinton as scuba divers swim near the shore Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ferry system increases ridership by a half million in 2024

Edmonds-Kingston route remains second-busiest route in the system.

Pharmacist Nisha Mathew prepares a Pfizer COVID booster shot for a patient at Bartell Drugs on Broadway on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett lawmakers back universal health care bill, introduced in Olympia

Proponents say providing health care for all is a “fundamental human right.” Opponents worry about the cost of implementing it.

Outside of the updated section of Lake Stevens High School on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020 in Lake Stevens, Wa. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lake Stevens, Arlington school measures on Feb. 11 ballot

A bond in Lake Stevens and a levy in Arlington would be used to build new schools.

Lake Stevens Sewer District wastewater treatment plant. (Lake Stevens Sewer District)
Lake Stevens sewer district trial delayed until April

The dispute began in 2021 and centers around when the city can take over the district.

Robin Cain with 50 of her marathon medals hanging on a display board she made with her father on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Running a marathon is hard. She ran one in every state.

Robin Cain, of Lake Stevens, is one of only a few thousand people to ever achieve the feat.

People line up to grab food at the Everett Recovery Cafe on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Coffee, meals and compassion are free at the Everett Recovery Cafe

The free, membership-based day center offers free coffee and meals and more importantly, camaraderie and recovery support.

Devani Padron, left, Daisy Ramos perform during dance class at Mari's Place Monday afternoon in Everett on July 13, 2016. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
Mari’s Place helps children build confidence and design a better future

The Everett-based nonprofit offers free and low-cost classes in art, music, theater and dance for children ages 5 to 14.

The Everett Wastewater Treatment Plant along the Snohomish River on Thursday, June 16, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett water, sewer rates could jump 43% by 2028

The rate hikes would pay for improvements to the city’s sewer infrastructure.

The bond funded new track and field at Northshore Middle School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024 in Bothell, Washington. (Courtesy of Northshore School District)
Northshore School District bond improvements underway

The $425 million bond is funding new track and field complexes, playgrounds and phase one of two school replacements.

A salmon carcass lays across willow branches in Edgecomb Creek on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025 in Arlington, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Tribes: State fish passage projects knock down barriers for local efforts

Court-ordered projects have sparked collaboration for salmon habitat restoration

The Everett Municipal Building on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Everett council approves $111 million construction of sewer project

The Port Gardner Storage Facility, in the works for more than a decade, will help prevent overflows of the city sewer system.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.