PORT TOWNSEND — Port Townsend attorney John Wood, who is seeking Jefferson County District Court Judge Jill Landes’ seat in the Nov. 2 general election, last week accused the judge of watching television during a trial, a charge that she strenuously refuted.
“On several occasions, Judge Landes has shown that she is not paying attention,” Wood told a group of about 100 who attended a candidate forum at the Masonic Lodge in Port Townsend on Thursday night.
Wood told the audience that he had watched a video of a court proceeding on Sept. 9.
“Once, she was watching TV at her desk during a trial and she interrupted it to tell people about a gas explosion in California,” Wood said.
“The person on trial was found not guilty, but were they convicted, they would have been able to appeal.”
No television
Said Landes: “I do not have a TV on the bench, and I invite Mr. Wood or anyone else to come up and take a look.
“During that particular case, I was working on correspondence during the break when I checked CNN and saw the news about the explosion, that was in San Bruno, California.
“I knew there was someone in the courtroom who was from that area and I wanted to keep them informed, in case they needed to check up on family members.
“During a trial,” Landes said, “court proceedings have my full attention.”
Courtroom conduct
Since he announced his candidacy in June, Wood, 66, has criticized the 60-year-old Landes’ courtroom conduct, saying that she does not take proceedings seriously and that she is inconsistent and often rude to defendants and attorneys.
In previous forums, Wood has prefaced these comments with such statements as “I have heard” or “I have been told.”
During Thursday’s forum, Wood said he had specific examples gleaned from watching videos of court proceedings.
He said he has not spent any time observing her personally and has only been in her courtroom once.
Wood said he had no ambition to run for the $141,710 a year job, and announced his candidacy only after several local attorneys asked to do so a more even-handed voice on the bench.
At previous forums, Wood has made assertions which Landes has denied, saying that she has the proper judicial temperament, and that people she has convicted have thanked her for turning their lives around.
On Thursday night, Landes corrected a questioner who addressed her as “Miss Landes.”
“It’s Judge Landes,” she said.
On Friday, Wood pointed to that as a change in Landes’ behavior, saying “she acted very aggressive and came across the same way she does in the courtroom.”
Landes denied that she had changed her approach, but said she “was not going to allow Mr. Wood to make statements that cannot be backed up by facts.”
There was some agreement between the two at the forum.
Both candidates said they would support the establishment of mental health court, and would work toward acquiring the grant money needed to bring it to Jefferson County, and both said they throught prosecution should be “gender-neutral.”
Temperament
But the recurring theme continued to the end of the forum, with Wood saying that Landes does not have the temperament to be a judge, and Landes saying she does.
“I’ve been in many courts and I know how they should be run,” Wood said.
“I am confident that I can do that here, and I intend to change the direction, the policy and the temperament of this court to where it should be.”
Landes said the court runs well at present and no such changes are needed,
“I am proud of the court that I run,” she said.
“I am proud of the way people respond when they come into my court, and the way I respond to them.
“It’s an effective court,” she said. “It’s an efficient court, where everyone is treated equally.”
The forum was co-sponsored by the American Association of University Women of Port Townsend, the Jefferson County League of Women Voters and The Leader, a weekly newspaper.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
