King County District Court Judge Judith Eiler has been suspended for five days without pay by order of the Washington Supreme Court. The order represents a reduction of the Washington State Commission on Judicial Conduct’s initial ruling that the judge be suspended for a period of ninety (90) days. The suspension is based upon repeated violations of Canon 3(a)(3) of the Washington Code of Judicial Conduct which states:
“Judges should be patient, dignified, and courteous to litigants, jurors, witnesses, lawyers, and others with whom judges deal in their official capacity, and should require similar conduct of lawyers, and of the staff, court officials, and others subject to their direction and control.”
The 5-4 ruling, which was filed this morning, can be found at In re Disciplinary Proceeding against Eiler. The four judge dissent felt that the Court should not have reduced the original sanction and that a 90 day suspension was more appropriate based upon Judge Eiler’s repeated violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct.