Judicial candidates argue over qualifications, experience

By Jeremy Pawloski | The Olympian • Published August 12, 2008

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A deputy solicitor general with the Washington Attorney General and a longtime Olympia attorney will square off in the Aug. 19 primary to replace retiring Position 3 Thurston County Superior Court Judge Richard A. Strophy.

Thurston County Superior Court judge

Position 3

Carol Murphy

•Age: 43

•Hometown: Olympia

•Occupation: Deputy solicitor general with the Office of the Attorney General

•Education: Juris doctor, 1991, Golden Gate University; bachelor's degree 1987, University of Washington

•Background: Assistant attorney general since 1991, Senior counsel since 2004. Legal experience includes multiple Superior Court and Federal District Court jury trials and appellate arguments on issues ranging from criminal law to employment discrimination. Community volunteer, including service on the boards of Thurston County Volunteer Legal Clinic, Thurston County Bar Association, Washington Women Lawyers and Creative Theater Experience

•Family: Married; two children, three stepchildren

•Web site: www.carolmurphyforjudge.com

•Top donors: B. Hallenbeck, $1,000; Paul Battan, Shirley Battan, William Collins and Jean Dewitt, $500 each

Charles H. Williams

•Age: 56

•Hometown: Tumwater

•Occupation: Trial lawyer

•Education: Juris doctor, 1980, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, 1977-80; bachelor's degree, 1974, The Evergreen State College, Olympia, 1972-74

•Family: Wife, four stepchildren, nine grandchildren

•Web site: www.williams4judge.org

•Top donors: J. Trowbridge, $1,600; Sara Thompson, $1,000; Fuller & Fuller and Richard Sanders, $500 each

Charles Williams, 56, said that his 27 years of experience as a trial attorney would serve him well if elected. He said his understanding of the rules of evidence and his experience as a pro-tem judge for 13 years, including four years as an administrative law judge, also have prepared him.

"Law, like medicine, is a service profession," Williams said. "As professionals, we're not going to measure our value according to how much money we make. We measure it according to the benefit we confer upon those in the court. For me, the highest calling of a lawyer is to be a judge."

Carol Murphy, 43, a deputy solicitor general with the AG's office, stressed her strong ties to the local community. She cited her ties to her church, and her volunteer work with the county Volunteer Legal Clinic, where she served as a board member from 1998 to 2001. Murphy said at a recent candidates' forum that the volunteer work gave her an experience "touching individual lives in a way that did not happen in my practice at the Attorney General's Office."

The top vote getter Aug. 19 will win the judgeship.

Murphy said her work as deputy solicitor general has given her the opportunity to argue cases before the state Court of Appeals and Supreme Court. She also has assisted in the drafting of ballot titles and in election litigation.

Superior Court judges must approve all ballot titles because the county includes the state capital. Local Superior Court judges also routinely hear civil lawsuits and litigation involving state agencies.

Murphy said if elected, one of her main priorities would be to ensure people leave her court feeling that they have been treated with respect, and that they have understood what happened.

"I think I can be fair, and I say that with some experience," Murphy said.

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