SECTION I               

 

BASIC CANDIDATE INFORMATION

 

1.      Name as it will appear on the ballot

 

First Name

Middle Initial or Nick Name

Last Name

Jim

     

Rogers

 

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

 

King County Superior Court, Department 45

 

3.   Are you the incumbent?                           No

 

 

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

 

44 years with one seven year absence from 1982-8

 

5.   How long have you resided in King County?

 

same

 

6.   Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan?         Partisan      Nonpartisan         

                                                                                                                       

7.   If partisan, please indicate party:       

 

CAMPAIGN CONTACTS

 

 

Campaign Name:

 

Jim Rogers for King County Superior Court

 

Address:

 

3518 Fremont Ave N. #138

 

City/State/Zip:

 

Seattle, Wa 98103

 

Campaign Phone:

 

206-226-8727

 

 

Campaign Fax:

 

     

 

 

Campaign E-mail:

 

jimrogers2004@comcast.net

 

 

Campaign Website:

 

www.jimrogersforjudge.com

 

 

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)

PCO 43-1363, 43rd District Democrats

 

both

 

1994-6

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

 

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 because the work of a judge is important public service and interesting work. 

 

The work of  a King County Superior Court Judge is important public service.  The desire to make a difference in public service, instilled in me by my family,  is the greatest single factor behind the choices I have made both in my career and in my community volunteer work.   

 

I believe that I would enjoy the work of a judge.  As a law clerk to respected Federal Judge Robert Bryan, I first became interested in the broad variety of civil and criminal legal issues that came before the Court.  Judges are the last true generalists in law.  This appeals to me.   As a trial lawyer in civil and criminal cases, I have seen the importance of having qualified, unbiased judges who carefully consider the law and the facts of each case, despite difficult case loads.  

 

 


 

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

 

I am described by others as even-tempered, fair, hardworking, thorough and capable. 

 

  

 

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. 

 

1. Work in the Special Assault Unit, King County Prosecutor’s Office:

 

 From 1996-2003, I prosecuted and successfully obtained pleas and verdicts in many cases involving child and adult sexual assault, child physical abuse, child homicide, sexually violent predator commitments, and sex crimes involving the internet.  These cases are difficult to prosecute and highly emotional for victims and families of victims.  I worked with many police officers, victim advocates, medical professionals, DNA scientists, psychiatrists, psychologists and computer forensics experts to prosecute these cases. 

 

2. Chair of Legal Task Force for the Homeless, King County Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division: 

 

From 1989-91, I was the chair for a group of impressive legal professionals dedicated to the delivery of legal services to homeless people.  We worked with local law firms and King County shelters and we created a system whereby firms “adopted” shelters and represented persons in the shelters needing legal assistance.   Todd Maybrown and I were recipients of the King County Bar Association's "Pro Bono Service Award" for our work in 1991.

 

3. Peace Corps Volunteer in Sierra Leone:

 

 From 1982-4, I was an agricultural extension agent working for the Sierra Leone Ministry of Agriculture.  I worked with local farmers, with primary schools to develop funding sources through cash crops, and with women’s gardening groups.  My work with women's gardening groups was well respected and my replacement was sent to the International Women's Conference In Kenya.  I lived in a village of 29 houses and became close friends with a number of farmers, learning more from them than I taught them.


 

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.

 

As a Senior homicide, sexual assault and child abuse prosecutor at the King County Prosecutor’s Office, as a civil lawyer at Riddell Williams, as a federal law clerk for a respected federal judge, I have engaged many of the questions that Superior Court judges must decide each day.   I have tried many jury cases and argued many motions in the very same court where I seek office.

 

 Board of Directors, University Heights Community Center 2002-present (President 2003). UHCCA is our local community center.  I am on the board of the nonprofit organization that leases the building from the Seattle Public Schools and runs a community center in the building (I have been less active in the past few months while campaigning but will resume involvement after election regardless of outcome).    

 

Board of Directors, Skills, Inc., 1994-7 I served on the Board of a business whose mission is to provide jobs for the disabled.  

 

Chair, Legal Task Force for the Homeless, King County Bar Association-Young Lawyers Division Task Force 1989-91.

 

Board of Directors for the Young Lawyers Division of the King County Bar Association, 1994-96.

 

South End Candidate Evaluation Committee Municipal League, 1989.

 

Volunteer with Washington Environmental Council 1989-early 90s.

 

Represented many people for free while in private practice, from victims of domestic violence to political refugees.

 

Involved at St. Joseph’s Church, 1988-present. 

 

Advisory Board on integrating community service into the curriculum for

Seattle Preparatory School 1992.

 

In the mid-80’s, I regularly volunteered for St. Martin de Porres shelter and Operation Nightwatch.  While in Washington, D.C., I volunteered for the homeless shelter at St. Aloysius Church.

 

Peace Corps Volunteer, 1982-4, Sierra Leone, West Africa.

 

Raising two young children with my wife, who is an Associate Professor of Scandinavian Studies and Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education at the University of Washington

 

 

 

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

 

Judges on Superior Court adminster and adjudicate disputes, provide a fair and impartial hearing for all, and work for the efficient and fair administration of justice with others.  I believe that all parties share a desire to appear in a court where decisions will be rooted in an intelligent and common-sense view of the law and will be rendered in a timely manner.   


 

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.

 

University of Washington, B.A. with distinction 1982, Georgetown University Law Center, J.D. cum laude 1988

 

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.

 

As a Senior homicide prosecutor, lawyer in civil practice representing clients, and law clerk for a respected federal judge, I have engaged in many of the questions that Superior Court judges must decide.  I have volunteered for my community locally and globally as a lawyer, Peace Corps volunteer, and neighbor, with the homeless, the disabled, domestic violence victims, and with my community center and church. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

Currently, I am a Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, most recently a trial lawyer in the homicide unit for the King County Prosecutor’s Office.  Our responsibilities are to respond to every homicide in King County; assist the police in investigation; make the decision to file charges or decline to file charges in consultation and approval with our front office; and take the cases to trial or resolution.  I have tried numerous cases in District Court, the Juvenile Division of King County Superior Court, and since 1996, King County Superior Court.  Every trial in Superior Court since 1996 has been a jury case.  I have carried a full trial caseload nearly the entire time I have worked at the King County Prosecutor’s Office. The majority of my cases have involved the crimes of sexual assault, child abuse and homicide, and my current practice is entirely criminal.   

 

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.)

 

I have not served as a judge.  I worked for a Federal District Court Judge, the Hon. Robert Bryan, from 1988-9.  In my work as a law clerk for Judge Bryan, I managed cases for him, drafted orders for him on all civil motions, and researched legal issues as needed. 

 

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

 

N/A

 


 

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

 

    

% municipal court

 

    

% state district court

 

   95 

% superior court

 

     

% federal district court

 

   5 

% 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, although I am on the Board of Directors of our local community center, University Heights.  I expect to remain actively involved there.   

 

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