2003 Judicial Candidate Questionnaire

 

SECTION I               

 

BASIC CANDIDATE INFORMATION

 

1.      Name as it will appear on the ballot

 

First Name

Middle Initial or Nick Name

Last Name

Harry

     

McCarthy

 

2.   Office sought (include office, jurisdiction, position/district number):

 

KIng County Superior Court - Position 19

 

3.   Are you the incumbent?                  Yes              

 

 

4.   How long have you resided in this district/city?

 

29 Years

 

5.   How long have you resided in King County?

 

30 Years

 

6.   Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan?               Nonpartisan         

                                                                                                                       

7.   If partisan, please indicate party:       

 

CAMPAIGN CONTACTS

 

Campaign Name:

The Committee to Retain Judge Harry McCarthy

 

Address:

 

PO BOX 1787

 

City/State/Zip:

 

Seattle, WA 98111-1787

 

Campaign Phone:

 

206-441-3375

 

 

Campaign Fax:

 

206-441-3624

 

 

Campaign E-mail:

 

mccarassoc@cablespeed.com

 

 

Campaign Website:

 

None

 

 

POLITICAL BACKGROUND

 

1.   Beginning with the most recent position, please list public offices which you have held.  Include positions on appointive Boards or Commissions.

 

Public Office

Elective or Appointive?

Dates Held

Leadership Role (if any)

King County Superior Court

Position - 19

 

Elective

 

9/27/02 - present

 

Judge

 

 

Assistant U.S. Attorney

 

Appointive

 

8/70 - 6/98

 

Chief of Criminal

Div. Seattle 6/94 - 6/98

 

 

Pro Tem Judge -

Seattle Municipal Court **

**Also Pro Tem Judge

King County Superior Court

 

Appointive

 

2000 - 2002

 

     

 

 

2.   If you ran for public office but were not elected, please list those races below:

 

Office Title

Year of Run

N/A

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 


 


SECTION III

 

In this section, we are seeking responses that reflect the four ratings criteria: involvement, effectiveness, character, and knowledge.  These are defined as follows:

 

  • Involvement: What has the candidate done previously in family, neighborhood, community, volunteer work, employment or public life to suggest readiness to accomplish challenging objectives? How do these activities demonstrate readiness for the challenges unique to the office sought?

 

  • Effectiveness: Has the candidate demonstrated promise of being productive in the office sought?  Has the candidate shown the ability to work with other people?

 

  • Character: Do the candidate's personal traits show the ability to take on the responsibilities of campaigning for and holding the public office she or he is seeking? Is the candidate a leader, participant or observer?  Is the candidate trustworthy, reliable and candid?

 

§         Knowledge: Has the candidate demonstrated the willingness and ability to learn and adapt?  Does the candidate understand the duties and challenges of the office sought?  Does the candidate have a firm grasp of the issues important to his or her constituency and their potential effects?

 

 

1.      In a page or less, why are you running for this office?  (Note: the interview committee will be given a copy of this statement before your interview; at the beginning of your interview you will have the opportunity to expand on this statement in any way you wish.)

 

I am running for this office because I love working as a Superior Court judge.  As an Assistant United States Attorney, I derived great professional and personal satisfaction from public service.  During the last years of my service as a federal prosecutor, I became interested in continuing public service as a judge.  Several federal judges whom I appeared before were inspiring role models.

 

After retiring from the U.S. Attorney's Office, I served as a pro tem judge in the local courts and enjoyed the experience so, that I pursued an appointment to the Superior Court.  Since I was honored by the appointment in September 2002, I have thoroughly enjoyed the new career as a judge.  It is a great responsibility and a privilege to be able to serve the citizens of King County and to help people who come before the court.  I believe that I can make a positive contribution to the administration of justice whether it is presiding over a domestic violence assault charge, a child custody dispute, or a wrongful death suit.

 


 

2.      Describe your most important personal characteristics or traits as they relate to the office you seek.

 

I believe that I have the necessary intelligence, industry, courtesy, patience, listening skills and understanding of the human condition to be a good trial judge.

 

3.      Please describe in sufficient detail, one to three accomplishments or contributions of which you are most proud.  These examples should illustrate effective skills and capabilities you think apply to the office you are seeking.  These accomplishments may have occurred at any time in your personal, professional, or public life. 

 

(a)   While an Assistant U.S. Attorney, I was lead counsel in U.S. v Edward Gallup et al.  Gallup was an insurance fraud prosecution which was preceded by a national investigation of fraudulent group health insurance practices.  Gallup and two co-defendants devised a complex scheme where they sold attractive but bogus health insurance to thousands of victims nation-wide.  They received over $6 million in premiums, but instead of paying for insurance claims, they diverted the premiums to support their own lavish life styles, including new jaguars, office and home furnishings, jewels and furs for their wives, and thousands in money - laundered dollars to their personal bank accounts.  This successful prosecution resulted in significant jail sentences and restitution to the victims of $6 million.  The case took three years to investigate and 5 weeks to try.

 

(b)   During my career as an Assistant United States Attorney, I came in contact with the Native American culture through prosecutions of a number of crimes on Indian reservations.  Soon after joining the office I was assigned to United States v Washington, the "Boldt" Indian fishing rights case.  These experiences broadened my cultural awareness and increased my knowledge of issues on the reservation.


 

4.      Please list or describe your current and past activities in the community in which you have acquired skills that relate to the office you seek.  Include your role in the activity and the year(s) in which you were involved.  Involvement consists of many areas such as family, neighborhood, community, employment, or public life.

 

Beginning in approximately 1979 - 1980, my wife and I became involved with Washington Advocates for the Mentally Ill and also the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, (NAMI).  This activity came about as a result of a family member developing mental illness.  We remain members of NAMI  and active advocates on behalf of the mentally ill.

 

We also worked as volunteers with "Operation Nightwatch" during the winter 2001 - 2002.  "Operation Nightwatch" is a non-denominational homeless shelter for men operated out of St. James Cathedral and other churches in downtown Seattle.

 

During 2001 - 2002, I was a member of a King County Bar Association Committee providing legal services for the homeless. 

 

I have also been a member of the Denny Regrade Crime Prevention Council (circa 1992 - 1998), and the Belltown Community Council, (2001 - present).

 

 

  1. Please describe the duties of the office you seek.  Which are the most important duties and why?

 

Duties of Superior Court judge:

 

(a)  to adjudicate disputes within a reasonably prompt time;

(b)  to provide a fair and impartial hearing/trial for those parties who come before

 the court;

(c)  to participate in the administration of justice by working with other judges, lawyers, court staff and members of the community.

 

I believe that the most important duty of a judge is to create an environment where all who come to court know that they will receive a full, fair and courteous hearing.


EDUCATION BACKGROUND SUMMARY

FOR PUBLICATION IN CANDIDATE EVALUATION REPORT

 

The Municipal League’s Candidate Evaluation Report is distributed to voters in print and/or on our website.  It includes a summary of the candidate’s education.  Please summarize your education in 120 characters (letters, punctuation, and space all combined).  The League will delete material that exceeds the space limit by beginning with the last entry.  Suggested order is (degree)  (subject)  (school)  (year, if desired). 

 

Note: If this question is left blank the League will not include education information in your candidate profile.

 

B.A. History  - St. Mary's College, Moraga, CA

J.D. Golden Gate University, San Francisco, CA

 

CIVIC INVOLVEMENT SUMMARY

FOR PUBLICATION IN CANDIDATE EVALUATION REPORT

 

The Municipal League’s Candidate Evaluation Report also includes a summary of each candidate’s civic involvement.  Please summarize your civic involvement in the space below.  We will make every attempt to include the information in the Candidate Evaluation Report as submitted.  Due to space restrictions in the Report, your response is limited to 500 characters (letters, punctuation, and spaces all combined).  It is important that you list your involvement beginning with the most important and ending with the least important.  If you exceed the length of response permitted, or if the League should find it necessary to shorten responses for publication purposes,  deletions will be made beginning with the last item listed. 

 

Note: This information will appear verbatim on the League’s Candidate Evaluation Report.  If this question is left blank, the Municipal League will not include information on your civic involvement in the Report.

 

  Check here if you would like the Municipal League to copy the first 500 characters from Question 4 to paste into this section.

 

During 2000 - 2002, I served as a volunteer mediator with the King County Inter-Local Dispute Resolution Group.  These co-mediations involved a number of employer - employee disputes, often with union grievances.

 

From 1973 to 1998, I served the community as an Assistant United States Attorney.  During that time, I prosecuted a wide variety of cases ranging from crimes on the Indian reservation, bank robberies, drug conspiracies and white collar crimes such as tax fraud, embezzlements and a number of fraud schemes involving many victims of crime.  From 1994 - 1998, I also served as the chief of the criminal division of the U.S. Attorney's office, overseeing the prosecution of many criminal cases.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplemental Judicial Candidate Questionnaire

 

1.   Briefly describe the nature of your current practice/position including types of clients and areas, if any, of specialization.  State what percentage involves civil litigation, criminal litigation, and/or nonlitigation.

 

      My current position is as a judge of the King County Superior Court - Position 19.  I am assigned to the Regional Justice Center in Kent hearing criminal cases.  I also have assigned civil cases as 25% of my caseload.

 

2.   Identify all your experience as a neutral decision maker (e.g. judge, permanent or pro tem, in any jurisdiction, administrative law judge, hearing officer, arbitrator, etc.)

 

Before being appointed by the Governor to the court in September, 2002, I served as a pro tem judge on the Superior Court, the King County District Court and the Seattle Municipal Court from 1998 - 2002.

 

3.   If you have been a judge, identify any court committees on which you have served or administrative positions you have held, including dates.

 

I am a recent member of the Courts and the Community Committee, the Jury Committee and the Juvenile Court Committee.  I have not been able to participate actively as yet, but hope to in the near future.

 


 

4.   List the approximate percentage of your time over the last five years you have made appearances in:

 

     

% municipal court

 

     

% state district court

 

     

% superior court

 

     

% federal district court

 

100

% appellate court

 

     

% administrative tribunals

 

5.   Are you now an officer or director of any business enterprise other than your law practice?  If so, what role do you expect to play if elected?

 

NO

 

6.   Have you ever been disciplined or determined to be in breach of professional conduct by any court, administrative agency, bar association, disciplinary committee, judicial conduct commission, or other professional group?  Have you ever had a formal complaint filed against you with the WSBA?  If so for either or both questions, give the particulars, including the outcome.

 

NO


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finished!

If at all possible, send your response to the Municipal League electronically as an attachment, or insert it into an e-mail message (rebecca@munileague.org).  Mail and fax numbers are listed below.  If the League has not contacted you to schedule an interview, please call the League office at your earliest convenience.

 

Don’t forget to send the following to the Municipal League:  a resume, a photo, campaign literature, and, if you are an incumbent, constituent newsletters and other materials.  Please use the check-off list on the cover sheet of this packet to indicate which items you have sent.

 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION AND GOOD LUCK IN YOUR CAMPAIGN!

 

THE MUNICIPAL LEAGUE OF KING COUNTY

 

Candidate Evaluation Coordinator:  Rebecca Cooper

 

810 Third Avenue, Suite 224                  Phone: 206-622-8333                Email: rebecca@munileague.org

Seattle, WA 98104-1614                        Fax: 425-671-0506                        Website: www.munileague.org