Court candidates talk qualifications

MOSES LAKE — Both Judge David Estudillo and his opponent, Nick Wallace, state that family court confronts them with the most difficult and heart-wrenching decisions they have to make as judges.

“Issues involving child custody and placement, in some instances, what I believe is countermanded by the law,” Wallace said. “And child dependency matters, those can be really tough cases as well.”

“Sometimes there is no predetermined answer to be found,” Estudillo said. “I see this most in dependency and family law, and in those instances, there’s lots of discretion.”

“My goal is to do what’s best for the child,” he added.

Both Estudillo and Wallace are vying to fill for the next four years the Grant County Superior Court judge position Gov. Jay Inslee appointed Estudillo to in September of last year.

Both men are proud denizens of the Columbia Basin. Estudillo was born in Sunnyside to farmworker parents who emigrated legally from Mexico in the 1960s. He has a law degree from the University of Washington in Seattle and has practiced both civil and criminal for the last 16 years.

Wallace, who earned his law degree from Seattle University and currently lives in Ephrata, has practiced law in the Columbia Basin for the last 20 years at a small firm where “you take on whoever walks in the door.” Wallace has also been a part-time, fill-in judge in the Grant County Superior Court for the last 10 years.

“I’m prohibited from imposing my views,” Wallace said. “The legislature writes the laws, I apply the laws to the facts that come before me.”

Wallace said being a judge is like being an umpire — “You don’t get to play, you don’t get to coach or give tips, you call balls and strikes.”

In fact, Wallace said he is cautious about applying any changes to the law from the bench.

Estudillo agreed, and explained that he strives to apply both the law and the Constitution and not take sides except as the law demands.

“My goal is to review what is submitted, look at the facts and the law, and if there is a clear answer, I apply a decision the way the law says,” Estudillo said.

Wallace said his lengthy experience practicing law in Grant County makes him far more qualified to sit on the Grant County Superior Court.

“I have local experience practicing law and making decisions,” he said. “I am better situated to understand the local issues that people face.”

Estudillo said his life story and experience also make him qualified to continuing working as a court judge in Grant County.

“I’m trying to be a judge for everybody,” he said.