Prior Experience
Trial Judge, Superior Court, 1990-2004
Armstrong, Alsdorf, Bradbury & Maier, P.C., Seattle, Washington (co-founder and partner, 1979-84; President, 1984-90)
Associate, Culp, Dwyer, Guterson & Grader, Seattle, Washington, 1975-1979
Civil Rights Division, United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., Honors Law Graduate Program, 1973-75
Publications and Presentations
Speaker, Views from the Bench, "Innovative Strategies for Litigating Class Action Suits," Law Seminars International conference, Seattle, WA (June 6-7, 2005)
Instructor, "First Amendment and Media Issues for Judges," National Judicial College, (May 23-25, 2005)
“Judicial Decision Making and Fact Finding,” Judicial College for new Judges in Washington State (January 2005)
“Courtside View of RPC Pitfalls and Pratfalls,” in King County Bar Association’s Annual Ethics Workout (December 2004)
“Impeach Justice Douglas: Handling Controversies Ethically and with Professionalism,” Washington State Bar Association (December 2004)
“Courts and the Media,” National Conference of Metropolitan Courts (September 2004)
“Judicial Impartiality,” King County Bar Association Labor Law Section (June 2004)
“How (Not) to Talk to a Judge,” Panel Discussion, in Washington State Trial Lawyers Association seminar, The Early Years of Litigation Practice (May 2004)
“Managing the Trial Efficiently: Bench Trial Considerations” in Advanced Trial Management, Superior Court Judges Association Spring Judicial Conference (April 2004)
“Gag Orders, Restraints and RPC 3.6” in Criminal Law Review, Superior Court Judges Association Spring Judicial Conference (April 2004)
“Courting Trouble,” Opinion piece in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (November 16, 2003)
Panelist and Presenter, “Control of the Courtroom,” King County Bar Association Bench-Bar Conference (November 2003)
“Making Public Statements Within the Parameters of Judicial Canons,” Conference on Transparency in the Judicial System, The Judiciary of the State of Hawai’i (November 2003)
“Ethics and Judicial Free Speech,” Fall Judicial Conference, Washington State Superior Court Judges Association (September 2003)
“The Sound of Silence: Thoughts of a Sitting Judge on the Problem of Free Speech and the Judiciary in a Democracy,” Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly, Vol. 30, No. 2 (August 2003)
“Making Your Case in the Court of Public Opinion,” Panelist, National Conference of Public Information Officers, Annual Meeting (August 2003)
“They’re Never Gone, But Can You Get Them? Electronic Documents in the Discovery Process,” co-presenter, Pacific Coast Labor & Employment Law Conference (May 2003)
“The Structure of the State Judicial System and the Nature of Common Law,” at Law School for Legislators, sponsored by the Washington State Bar Association and the Council on Public Legal Education (January 2003)
“Problems Arising From New Standards Applied to Judicial Free Speech,” Annual Conference of the Judicial Conduct Commission of the State of Washington (December 2002)
“Problems Overlooked in and Created by Republican Party of Minnesota v. White,” State-Federal Judicial Council and Bench-Bar-Press Committee of King County Bar Association (November 2002)
Moderator and Co-Chair, King County Bar Association Bench-Bar Conference; Presenter, “Ethics and Discovery for the Trial Lawyer” (November 2002)
“Judges, the Media, and Ethics,” Portion of General Jurisdiction Course given to new state court trial judges from all parts of the United States, National Judicial College (October 2002)
“How to Persuade a Judge to Rule in Your Favor,” in Annual Tort Law Review, Washington State Trial Lawyers (September 2002)
“Please Make Me Shut Up,” Op-ed article in Seattle Post-Intelligencer (May 1, 2002)
“High Profile Cases and the Media,” Superior Court Judges Association Spring Conference (April 2002)
“Judicial Independence and Judicial Accountability: An Elected Judge’s Perspective,” Commonwealth Lawyers Association, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (April, 2002); reprinted in volume entitled Judges and Judicial Accountability (Commonwealth Lawyers Association, 2003)
“The Right to a Jury Trial in the North American System of Justice,” conference on jury reform entitled Una Valoracion Critica Desde La Perspectiva Del Derecho Comparado, organized by the European Union and presented in Managua, Nicaragua (February 2002)
“The Importance of Being Earnest: The Significant Role of the Settlement Guardian ad Litem,” in Advanced Topics and Issues in Minor Settlements, King County Bar Association (November 2001)
“The Peace Corps Experience and the New World (Dis)Order,” Evans School, University of Washington (October 2001)
“Judicial Independence and the Events of September 11,” Annual Meeting of American Judicature Society, Washington Chapter (October 2001)
“Judges in the Media Crucible,” ABA National Convention in Chicago (August 2001)
Panelist and Presenter for “Order in the Court” portion of 2001 Bench-Bar Conference, King County Bar Association (March 2001)
Judicial Panelist, “Deposition Practice: Uses, Abuses and What You Can Do About Them,” Washington State Bar Association (November 2000)
“Judicial Decision-Making” for Arbitration Training, King County Bar Association (August 2000)
Guide to the King County Superior Court, for the Washington Lawyers Practice Manual (1999, 2000 and 2001 editions)
Memberships and Activities
Professional Bar Memberships
United States Supreme Court
Western and Eastern Districts of Washington
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Washington State Bar Association
District of Columbia Bar
King County Bar Association
Federal Bar Association
American Bar Association
Honors/Rankings
Named as one of the “Best Lawyers in America” in Appellate Law and in Alternative Dispute Resolution by Woodward/White
Selected to "Super Lawyers," Washington Law & Politics (2006)
Outstanding Judge, presented by the King County Bar Association (2002)
Distinguished Achievement Award, Carleton College, Northfield, Minn. (2002)
Judge of the Year, presented by the Washington State Trial Lawyers’ Association (2001)
Judge of the Year, presented by the Washington Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (2000)
Vanguard Award, presented by Washington Women Lawyers (2000)
As trial judge: In King County Bar Association’s 2004 poll, became the only judge ever to have received the highest percentage of “excellent” rankings in every one of the five categories rated
Other Professional Committees and Activities
Elected member, American Law Institute (1999-present)
Master and Founding Member, Inns of Court, Seattle Chapter, (2002-present), President (2003-04)
Board of Directors, King County Bar Foundation (2001-04)
Member, Superior Court Judges’ Association (1990-2005)
Supreme Court, State of Washington, Duplicate Rules Committee (1997-2000)
Member, American Judicature Society, Washington Chapter (2001-present)
Member, United States Supreme Court Historical Society (1986-present)
Member, Ninth Circuit Historical Society (1987-present)
Board member, Washington State Courts Historical Society (2001-present)
Community Activities and Other Work Experience
Member, Honorary Advisory Committee, Peace Corps Master’s Degree Program at Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs, University of Washington (2000-present)
Member, Friends of Sierra Leone: aid to alleviate the effects of a long civil war (1995-present)
Diversity Committee, The Lakeside School, Seattle, Washington (1992-95)
Education
J.D., Yale Law School, 1973
M.A. in American History, Yale University Graduate School, 1973
B.A. in History, magna cum laude, with distinction, Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota, 1967
