PORT ANGELES — The four candidates vying to replace retiring Clallam County Superior Court Judge Ken Williams said they would do everything in their power to expedite criminal cases.
But Curtis Johnson, Chris Melly, William Payne and Erik Rohrer told members of the Clallam County Bar Association that there’s only so much a judge can do about trial delays.
“I don’t know if you can hold anybody’s feet to the fire because the idea is to do justice and make sure that the accused has a fair trial,” said Johnson, a practicing Port Angeles attorney since 1978, in Friday’s forum at the North Olympic Skills Center.
“That requires a full evaluation of the facts and circumstances.”
Payne, a Port Angeles attorney and former Clallam County deputy prosecutor, said there are “limited public defenders, limited prosecutors and limited court time.”
He and others pitched the idea of an informal bench-bar work group to address delays and other issues.
“I realize there are issues with regard to witness availability and whatnot,” said Melly, Clallam County hearings examiner and a former chief deputy prosecutor.
“But I think that’s one of the issues that I would like to examine.”
Rohrer, a three-term judge for the Forks-based Clallam County District Court No. 2, said there is no silver bullet to fix the problem.
“It is a problem, though,” he added.
“It’s a problem that I’m deeply concerned about. I just don’t have a real good answer.”
First forum in race
The closed forum was the first in the contested judicial race. Public forums will be held throughout the county this summer.
Ballots will be mailed to voters July 18 for the state’s top-two Aug. 7 primary.
Ballots will be mailed to voters Oct. 17 for the Nov. 6 general election.
In the unlikely event that one of the Superior Court candidates gets more than 50 percent of the primary vote, he would automatically win the election, County Auditor Patty Rosand said.
Williams, 65, whose salary is $148,000 a year, is retiring at the end of this year after five terms on the bench.
The two other Clallam County Superior Court judges — George L. Wood and S. Brooke Taylor — are running unopposed.
Melly
Melly, 60, enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1969 to pay for his education. He served in the Vietnam War and pitched the idea of forming a veterans court in Clallam County.
Melly has 25 years of experience prosecuting cases in King and Clallam counties. He was Clallam County chief deputy prosecutor for 17 years.
In 2005, Melly was appointed to the bench as a court commissioner and hearings examiner.
As an attorney, he has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court.
“I’ve done it all in terms of practice,” Melly said.
“You pick a letter out of the alphabet, and I’ve probably done something there — aircraft, bankruptcy, contracts, deeds, easements, forests, all the way up to zoning.”
Rohrer
Rohrer, 54, touted his 11 years of experience as an elected Clallam County judge and the reputation he has earned.
“I have a reputation for being fair, a reputation for being impartial and a reputation for treating people in my courtroom — every single person in my courtroom — with dignity and with respect,” Rohrer said.
“I don’t lose my temper. I don’t belittle people. I don’t humiliate people.
“I believe there is a difference between being tough and being mean. I do think I’m a tough judge, but I’m not really that mean.”
Rohrer cited the fact that he has never been reversed on appeal to illustrate his judicial acumen.
He has practiced as an attorney throughout the state and has worked as a Superior Court commissioner and judge pro-tem in Clallam County.
Payne
Payne, 55, works in the Port Angeles office of the state attorney general, an office that Rohrer opened and managed for 10 years.
Payne served as a Clallam County deputy prosecutor from 2008 to 2010. He left the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office to open a private practice.
Payne has practiced both civil and criminal law in both Wyoming and Washington.
He enlisted in the Marine Corps and retired as a captain.
“Chris [Melly] kind of took my thunder, but I agree with him,” Payne said.
“The veterans court is one of the specialty courts that I think this county needs to address.”
Payne was president of the Clallam County Bar Association in 2010.
Johnson
Johnson, 58, has wrongful-death and murder cases on his resume along with all kinds of civil cases.
He was appointed judge pro-tem in 2003, handling misdemeanor and domestic relations cases.
Johnson has been a Superior Court arbitrator for the past five years.
“I’m well-versed on a variety of cases,” he said.
Each candidate was given five minutes for opening and closing remarks and two minutes to answer questions from attorneys.
Clallam County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Ann Lundwall asked the candidates to comment on the case of which they are most proud.
Johnson cited a murder case in which he defended an 18-year-old woman who shot her abusive father.
Melly said he was most proud of his attention to detail prosecuting three death-penalty cases.
“I can assure you that as a lawyer and as a human being, I have never encountered anything more difficult than trying to determine whether somebody should live or die,” Melly said.
What stands out
Rohrer said the juvenile cases stand out, including one case he prosecuted that removed children from a “horrid, horrid abuse situation.”
“Parental rights were terminated, and at the end of the day, I really felt like I had done something good for this family,” Rohrer said.
Payne cited the first-degree murder case of Etienne Choquette, whom he prosecuted with Lundwall.
Choquette was convicted of shooting Antonio Rodriguez Maldonado to death on a Forks street in September 2009 and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Dues-paying members of the bar association were polled after the forum. The results of the poll will be made public in about two weeks.
“I consider this to be an extremely important position on the ballot,” said Simon Barnhart, president of the Clallam County Bar Association.
“We have a responsibility as attorneys, I think, to make educated decisions about who we vote for to represent the judicial system on the bench in both District Court and Superior Court.”
________
Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
