PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson County Superior Court Judge Craddock D. Verser “is in good spirits” after being hospitalized for abdominal pain, his assistant said Tuesday.
“I spoke to the judge, and he was eager to get back to work, but we don’t yet know when that will be,” said court administrator Michelle Moore.
Verser, 62, was initially hospitalized July 19 in Kalispell, Mont., where he had traveled with his wife after her mother died.
He was admitted to the Kalispell Regional Medical Center with a complex abdominal situation that included a suspicious spot on his pancreas, Moore said.
He was released July 22 with medication and a care plan and returned home, but the symptoms recurred.
The situation was determined to be too complicated for Jefferson Healthcare hospital, so Verser was transported to the University of Washington Northwest Hospital and Medical Center in Seattle, Moore said.
A hospital employee would not disclose Verser’s condition Tuesday, citing hospital policy.
Verser, the Jefferson County Superior Court judge since 1994, had been on vacation since July 15 and was scheduled to return to work Monday.
Moore said Verser will return to work when he feels able.
To ensure smooth court operations, she has scheduled court dates for the next three weeks using visiting judges and court commissioners.
The court was scheduled to swap with Kitsap County on Friday and Clallam County on Aug. 5, and both those agreements will stand even though Jefferson County will not supply a judge in the trade.
Moore has assigned all pending cases aside from jury trials to the three court commissioners: Peggy Ann Bierbaum, Keith Harper and Noah Harrison.
Commissioners can preside over civil trials if all parties agree.
Moore said a civil trial scheduled for the first week of August will need to be continued.
Verser, a native of Virginia, arrived in Port Townsend in 1986 and began work as the Clallam-Jefferson public defender, according to his Superior Court biography.
He practiced law in Jefferson County from 1991 to 2004, representing the Port of Port Townsend and serving as a part-time public defender during that time.
Verser married Joyce Janni in February in a small ceremony in the Jefferson County Superior Courtroom.
Cards for Verser can be sent in care of Michelle Moore, Superior Court, P.O. Box 1220, Port Townsend, WA 98368.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
