Superior Court candidates speak to packed room

MOSES LAKE — The two candidates who are vying for the coveted position of Grant County Superior Court Judge in the upcoming general election spoke before a packed crowd of nearly 50 people at the Moses Lake-Grant County Tea Party Coalition meeting Tuesday night.

The meeting featured Grant County Superior Court Judge David Estudillo and his challenger Ephrata attorney Nick Wallace, with both of the candidates given time to introduce themselves to the crowd and explain why they are best suited for the position.

Estudillo was appointed to the bench by Gov. Jay Inslee in August 2015 in the wake of tenured Judge Evan Sperline announcing his retirement in April 2015. Estudillo, who has practiced law as an attorney in Washington since 1999 and previously served as the principal attorney and owner of Estudillo Law Firm, PLLC, was adamant in his belief that experience in the role of judge is an important qualification voters should be aware of.

He explained that he has been on the bench since September 2015 and during his time as judge has had the opportunity to handle civil, criminal and juvenile matters, as well as both short and extended bench and jury trials.

“I do believe I have the most experience when it comes to being Superior Court judge. There is no comparison to the eight and a half months approximately I have been on there,” Estudillo stated. “Then of course over the next six months or so I will have the chance to do a lot more.”

When it comes to experience, Wallace, who has practiced law in Grant County for more than 20 years and currently serves as managing partner at an Ephrata law firm, explained to the crowd that he has had the opportunity to serve as pro-tem judge in Grant County Superior Court for the past 10 years. He said 10 years into his tenure of practicing law and appearances in Superior Court he was pulled aside by Sperline, who asked him to consider being a judge on temporary basis.

“I did part-time judge work in Grant County Superior Court, in addition to being a lawyer under the mentorship of Judge Sperline,” Wallace explained. “I found that I had earned quickly the respect of my peers, the fellow judges as well as the fellow attorneys that I practiced with. They found that I was well suited to the bench.”

One of the major talking points that both Estudillo and Wallace hit on was a Grant County Bar Association commissioned survey that ranked the eight candidates who were seeking appointment to the Superior Court bench, as well as Inslee’s decision to name Estudillo as Sperline’s successor.

The survey, conducted by Washington State University criminal justice professor David Brody, tabbed Wallace as the most qualified candidate to replace Sperline. Eighty-five members of the Grant County Bar Association were asked to rate the eight candidates, which included Douglas Anderson (Ephrata), Lyliane Couture (Moses Lake), Paul Gaffney (Ephrata), Rafael Gonzalez (Ephrata), Albert Lin (Kennewick), and Rani Sampson (Wenatchee), in addition to Wallace and Estudillo, in five categories: legal knowledge, judicial temperament, integrity, relevant legal experience and suitability.

The eight candidates were rated as not qualified, qualified, well-qualified or exceptionally well-qualified in each of the five categories. Wallace came in atop each of the five categories and was found to be at least “qualified” in each category. Wallace, Estudillo and Gaffney were the only candidates to be judged at least “qualified” in every category.

Estudillo pointed toward his limited number of years in Grant County and limited interaction with the 85 members of the Grant County Bar Association as indicators as to why his ranking wasn’t as high as Wallace’s. Wallace said the people who know best about what it takes to be a Superior Court judge are the lawyers who interact with them on a daily basis. He said the 85 Grant County Bar Association members have the necessary acumen to determine who is best suited to be a Superior Court judge. Answering a question from the audience, both Estudillo and Wallace replied they would not be against the Grant County Bar Association doing another survey, as the bar members have now had a number of months to interact with and observe Estudillo.

When it comes to Inslee’s appointment of Estudillo as Sperline’s replacement, Wallace said he believes the governor did not chose the candidate with the necessary judicial experience to fulfill the responsibilities of being on the bench.

“People ask me, ‘why is that you are now running for judge?’ And my simple answer is this, I don’t think Jay Inslee chose the most qualified person and I want to give Grant County voters a choice,” Wallace said. “In November you can either support Governor Inslee’s choice, his appointment, which is Mr. Estudillo, or you can choose me.”

Estudillo explained that Inslee’s vetting process into the Superior Court judge candidates reviewed his personal background, educational qualifications, professional qualifications, the type of trials he had done in the past, past interaction with judges, past interaction with opposing counsel, involvement with the Washington State Bar Association, community involvement and temperament.

“The fact that I am Latino, that fact that my parents were from Mexico, the fact that I might look a little different than some people, that is not the defining characteristic of whether or not I am qualified to be a judge, “ Estudillo said. “That was not the defining qualification that was used to determine whether or not I was eligible to be a Superior Court judge.”

The candidates also had an opportunity to answer a number of questions on a wide-range of subject material from the audience during the meeting.