About the Committee:
The Latina/o Bar Association of Washington (LBAW) Judicial Evaluation Committee (JEC) is co-chaired by two members of the LBAW Executive Board of Directors. The JEC manages a group of volunteers consisting of members of the LBAW Executive Board of Directors and the general LBAW membership. The volunteers are committed to conducting fair and equitable ratings aimed at preserving the high standards expected of members seeking to serve on the bench in Washington State.

Judicial elections in Washington State are non-partisan in nature and judicial evaluations are educational in nature. Judicial evaluation ratings are not endorsements.
 
Who to Contact & How to Apply:
If interested in seeking a rating from LBAW’s JEC, please email the Governor’s application for Judicial Candidate to both of the two JEC co-chairs:
Pedro Bernal IV
Judicial Evaluations Committee Co-Chair
Assistant Attorney General
800 5th Avenue
Suite 2000, TB-14
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
Tel: 206.389.2031
Email: pbernal@lbaw.org
Term: 2009-2011

Daniel G. Ford
Judicial Evaluations Committee Co-Chair
Advocacy Coordinator
Columbia Legal Services
101 Yesler Wa - Suite 300
Seattle, WA 98104-2552
Tel: 206.287.9652
Email: dford@lbaw.org
Term: 2009-2011		  
 
Ratings:
The LBAW’s ratings for this year are available on Voting for Judges.org, a nonpartisan, impartial source of information about judicial elections in the state of Washington and an informational online resource for voters. Please visit http://www.votingforjudges.org/08gen/rating/lbaw.html.
 
Evaluation Process:
LBAW conducts judicial evaluations throughout the year for those candidates seeking appointment to the bench. All other candidates for the bench may schedule an interview with the JEC during four times of the year: April, June, August and October. Judicial ratings from LBAW are valid for three years.

Because the LBAW believes the process of evaluating candidates for the bench is critical to the fulfillment of the mission of our bar association, the JEC is committed to conducting a complete and exhaustive review of all materials submitted in addition to interviewing references offered prior to conducting a candidate interview.

The JEC encourages applicants to seek ratings well in advance of an application appointment or election in order to ensure timeliness. The JEC undertakes a review of all materials for the following purposes:
 
. trial experience,
. prior legal experience,
. experience as a neutral decision maker,
. diversity of legal experience; and
. degree of community service.
 
The JEC interviews the candidate through a panel of volunteers who consider all information gathered in the preceding review of materials and interviews. After reviewing all information, the panel then conducts a thirty-five minute interview of the candidate. The candidate may make an opening statement and a closing statement.

The interview is designed to elicit information regarding the candidates prior experience, ability to remain judicious in stressful circumstances, experience and/or potential as a neutral fact finder, judicial demeanor (neutrality, fairness), diversity of legal experience, legal ability (written and oral), ethical conduct, integrity, honesty, commitment to justice for all, community service, fairness, understanding of diverse perspectives and a demonstrated sensitivity to all persons.

The possible ratings after review has been undertaken are Exceptionally Well Qualified, Well Qualified, Qualified and Not Qualified. Failure to provide sufficient information or to otherwise cooperate with the process results in an "insufficient information to rate" statement.
 
Disclaimer: LBAW strives to administer the entire JEC process in a uniform, fair and consistent manner. The process remains the same regardless of the candidate and candidates are not rated by comparison to other candidates. Many of the volunteers consistently give their time to this process ensuring that over time, the process remains relatively static.