Judicial Questionnaire 2022
Candidate Info
Candidate Name: Paul M. Crisalli
Position Sought: King County Superior Court, Department 41
Are you an incumbent for this position? Incumbent
Home Legislative District: 36th District
Campaign Info
Campaign Manager or Point of Contact: Paul Crisalli
Website www.judgepaulcrisalli.com
Facebook
Twitter
Part I – Candidate Background
1. Please describe your qualifications, education, employment, past community and civic activity, as well as any other relevant experience.
I have been a lawyer for nearly 16 years. I was sworn is as a superior court judge in October 2023. My current rotation is a general trial rotation, in which I preside over all types of cases, including criminal, civil, dissolution, civil protection orders, involuntary treatment act, and trust and estate matters.
Before becoming a judge, I worked for over a decade in the Washington State Attorney General's Office. I started in the Labor & Industries Division, where I worked on complex worker safety cases, briefed and argued appellate cases, and co-managed statewide superior court cases involving the Department of Labor & Industries. I moved to the Complex Litigation Division, where I worked on campaign finance enforcement matters, cases challenging rules proposed by the former federal executive administration involving immigration, health care, and education funding issues, recoupment of costs caused by companies that started wildfires, recovery of fraudulently stolen CARES Act funds, defending cases against judges, and managed class action defense cases. I was the appellate program advisor for the Complex Litigation Division, and I co-chaired the AGO's Ethics Committee.
Before joining the AGO, I clerked for Justice Mary E. Fairhurst on the Washington Supreme Court and Judge Joel Penoyar and Commissioners Eric Schmidt and Aurora Bearse on the State Court of Appeals, Division II. I also worked a couple years in private practice.
I received my J.D. from University of Oregon School of Law, and my Bachelor's Degree from Willamette University in Politics and Economics. At law school, I clerked for the Oregon Department of Justice, and at Willamette, I externed for Justice Paul J. DeMuniz of the Oregon State Supreme Court.
As an attorney, I chaired the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) Judicial Recommendation Committee and the WSBA Court Rules and Procedures Committee. I served as Secretary on the King County Bar Association's (KCBA) Board of Trustees, and I chaired the KCBA Membership Committee and the KCBA Appellate Section. I am a member of the William Dwyer Inn of Court.
As a judge, I am on the King County Superior Court's Personnel Committee, the Rules Committee, and the Technology Committee. I am also on the State Superior Court Judges Association Civil Law and Rules Committee and its Education Committee.
I have been rated Exceptionally Well-Qualified by the Latino/a Bar Association of Washington and Well-Qualified by the King County Bar Association, QLAW, the Joint Asian Judicial Evaluation Committee, and the Cardozo Society.
2. What prompted you to run for this office?
I have dedicated my career to public service. After more than a decade at the Attorney General's Office working on difficult cases that addressed issues important to our State and the Nation, I wanted to do my part to help work on the difficult issues facing our community as a judge.
3. What do you believe are the most important qualifications for a judge or justice?
A judge must be fair, impartial, and dedicated to search for a decision that is correct under the law and the facts. Judges must recognize that their decisions affect real people, with their own lived background and experiences. Decisions must be communicated in a way that recognizes the humanity of the parties before the judge.
4. What priorities are you seeking to address with your campaign?
First and foremost, I am dedicated to protecting the rule of law in our democracy. The judiciary, in particular, must do what it can to protect and defend the rule of law. Relatedly, it is important that our courts connect with the parties that appear before them. This means that judges communicate their decisions in a manner that best indicates to the parties that the judge understood the issues in dispute and the reasons for the decision. Last, important components of our legal system are underfunded and underappreciated. I hope to shine a light on those issues, particularly as they relate to issues facing our community.
Part II – Access to Justice
1. If elected, how will you work to improve access to justice, particularly for communities and constituencies that do not understand the American legal system?
As a judge, I try to ensure that the parties understand what is happening in the proceedings and how that might affect them. I do this by taking opportunities to either plainly explain, in simple terms, the purpose of the proceedings and the context of my rulings. When parties are represented, I also give opportunities for the lawyers to explain to their clients key events and to help place context for what might happen next. When it is apparent that language barriers exist, I pause to make sure interpreters are provided. When it looks like a party might have a different expectation of our legal system based on cultural differences, I try to explain our system while also respecting how the individual is experiencing a different system.
2. Is Washington relying too much on court fees to cover the cost of operating our judicial system? How do you believe our courts should be funded?
This used to be a bigger problem than it is now. The State Supreme Court has changed the rules and issued decisions that prevent a court from ordering a defendant to pay fines or fees unless they have the means to do so. As a judge, I have regularly denied nonmandatory fines and fees based on a defendant's indigency.
As a co-equal branch, the judiciary should be well funded so that judges and their staff are best equipped to address the concerns of the parties and the community.
3. Would you, if elected, bring restorative justice as a goal to your court room? * If yes, describe how that could look.
Yes. I regularly tell defendants that my goal is that, while they made a mistake, my goal is that they never again interact with the legal system. As a result, I have implemented a sentencing review system geared towards minimizing interaction with the court system unless the individual fails to comply with the conditions.
4. What ideas can you offer to make our judicial system more open, transparent, and responsive?
First, it is important for judges to interact with the community, which helps make the court more open, transparent, and responsive. As a judge, I have developed programs interacting with elementary school students introducing them to the courts and the law. Second, our court needs to adapt to technology while ensuring that this does not deprive access to the courts. I am on the technology committee and local rules committee, where my focus is to better incorporate technology into our court and streamline rules.
5. What are your thoughts on how our courts could permanently incorporate the growing virtual options after the need of the pandemic has passed?
A lesson from the pandemic is that some court events can be done virtually while some need to be done in person. I promote the use of virtual appearances when it will reduce costs and increase participation without harming the fact-finding function of our court. For instance, I offer that jury selection be conducted virtually unless a prospective juror prefers to come in person. This has increased the response rate
6. Justice delayed is justice denied, what are your thoughts on how to catch up on the current backlog of cases awaiting trail? Additionally what changes to the current court system would you implement to insure speedy justice?
This is a significant concern. Part of the cause is a significant shortage of criminal defense lawyers and prosecutors, as well as shortages of funding for assessing and addressing mental competency of defendants. This leads either to dismissals of criminal charges or lengthy delays before trials, which are concerning. My job is to respect and support the lawyers involved, promote the profession, while ensuring the constitutional rights of the individuals are respected.
In the courtroom, I set the expectation that cases are to be efficiently conducted, while also ensuring that the parties know that I am fairly considering the issues they raise. I make sure that the hearings before me are for a purpose in the case. This allows me to handle more cases to reduce the backlog and to attend to other motions or cases in our system.
I also believe that technologies and efficiencies can help alleviate these issues, which I promote as a member of the technology committee and local rules committee.
7. What judicial reforms do you support to achieve greater equity and inclusion for BIPOC individuals in our communities?
Judges need to ensure that the justice system represents equality for all. The State Supreme Court has announced cases and promulgated rules that allow the trial courts to expressly identify situations when the legal system is not adequately fulfilling that obligation. We trial judges must state when such failures occur. I have done this when applying GR 37, which prohibits peremptorily excusing a juror when race could be viewed as a cause for the peremptory. I have similarly addressed issues that arise during sentencing.
I strongly believe that one way to improve greater equity and inclusion of BIPOC individuals is to create hiring practices that eliminate implicit biases. As a result, as a supervisor of the AGO's Complex Litigation Division, the practices led to hiring diverse individuals. Applying those similar practices, I have hired diverse externs to work in my chambers.
By typing my name below, I declare under penalty of perjury the foregoing is true and correct.
Printed Name Paul M. Crisalli
Date (mm/dd/yy) 08/04/2024
