1. Name as it will appear on the ballot
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First Name |
Middle Initial or Nick Name |
Last Name |
2. Office sought (include office, jurisdiction, position/district number):
3. Are you the incumbent? Yes No
4. How long have you resided in this district/city?
5. How long have you resided in
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I resided in |
6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? Partisan Nonpartisan
CAMPAIGN CONTACTS
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Campaign Name: |
Citizens to Elect Steve Merrival For Supreme Court Justice |
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Address: |
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Campaign Phone: |
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Campaign Fax: |
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Campaign E-mail: |
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Campaign Website: |
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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) |
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2. If you ran for public office but were not elected, please list those races below:
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Year of Run |
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President Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney's Guild
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In this section, we are seeking responses that reflect the four ratings criteria: involvement, effectiveness, character, and knowledge. These are defined as follows:
§ 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.)
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During the coming year, we will file 27,000 felony criminal cases in our state. Criminal cases represent the largest single type of written opinion issued by our Supreme Court. These cases have a profound impact on the accused, victims and our communities. I believe that my commitment to justice and decades of experience serving the people, in the area of criminal law, will assist the Court to act fairly and impartially to serve all the people, not just narrow interests. I believe that our deep commitment to law, including our constitution, helps define us as a people. The Supreme Court, an indespensible component of our constitutional system, can only operate fairly and impartially to define our constitution and laws, while respecting the role of the legislature and executive office. I would also bring a respect for judicial precedent, fairness, equality and justice. I would not bring individual, personal, narrow-minded idealogy to the Court. |
2. Describe your most important personal characteristics or traits as they relate to the office you seek.
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In 1951, I was born to
a mixed-blood Sioux family in a Bureau of
In addition to my life experiences, my service to the public includes 22 years as a deputy prosecuting attorney, and 5 years as a special assistant United States attorney. I have worked for all the people, all the victims, as a prosecutor to seek justice. I have prosecuted some of the most serious muderers, violent criminal, drug offenders and white collar criminals. I have handlesd over 6000 felony cases. I also served 2 years as counsel for the Puyallup and Chehalis Tribes and 1 year in domestic peace corps at Milwaukee Legal Services. During law school, I assisted in the representation of indigent Native Americans and the Menominee Tribe. |
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.
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.
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For over two decades I have protected the rights of all the people and sought justice as a lawyer serving the public. I have protected the rights of ordinary citizens to be secure in the their persons, homes and communities. I have prosecuted some of the greatest threats to our safety: murders, violent criminals, serious drug offenders and white collar criminals who believed that they were above the law. As an officer of the Supreme Court, in a quasijudicial capacity, I have also jealously guarded the rights of the innocent to be free from government misconduct. I have worked hard to maintain the trust that the people have placed in me.
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The Supreme Court operates as an indispensible branch of our constitutional system to rely on existing precedent and reasoned analysis to interpret the constitution and apply the law. The most important function of the Court is to fairly and impartially apply the constitution and laws, while respecting the role of other branches of the government and the rights of the people. In this capacity, the Court protects the people from overeaching by the executive and legislative branches of the government. Supreme Court Justices are not affiliated with any existing political party or economic interest, and have a duty to serve all the people, as opposed to any narrow interest. Given the Court's role and the nature of the matters brought before it, it is essential that the Court function impartially and fairly in order to maintain the confidence, trust and respect of all the people. |
EDUCATION BACKGROUND SUMMARY
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.
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U of Wisconsin School of Law. More than two decades of service to the people as a legal advisor and trial attorney. |
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.
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Chairperson of Puyallup Indian Education Program, little league soccer and baseball coach, Boys' and Girls' Club Volunteer and Puyallup School District high school football programs cameraman. Over 25 years as public service lawyer and counsel, protecting the people, victims, families, communities, as well as the poor, disadvantaged, vulnerable and innocent. Prosecuted the most serious murderers, violent criminals, drug suppliers, and white collar criminals who thought they were above the law. |
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.
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.)
3. If you have been a judge, identify any court committees on which you have served or administrative positions you have held, including dates.
4. List the approximate percentage of your time over the last five years you have made appearances in:
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% municipal court |
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% state district court |
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95 |
% superior court |
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% federal district court |
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% appellate court |
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% 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?
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.
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.
Candidate Evaluation Coordinator: Rebecca Cooper