Rick Porter

Judge Rick Porter is in his 12th year as the Clallam County District Court #1 Judge and a Superior Court Commissioner. Judge Porter has practiced criminal law for 25 years. As a prosecutor, he prosecuted homicide cases, drug dealers, violent offenders and predatory pedophiles and helped start the Adult Drug Court.

Judge Porter has served 23 years in the Air Force/Reserve, currently holding the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He also served as a Defense Counsel for seven years.

Over the past 12 years, Judge Porter has built one of the most effective District Courts in the state. He has implemented a Mental Health Court; the first “high risk” probation program in the state; and the first DUI drug court in the state – all to enhance offender accountability and to promote public safety.

He has also implemented an internet-based traffic court and has zealously guarded the Sequim Traffic Court from budget cuts.In 2003, Judge Porter implemented the Pay or Appear program. It holds offenders accountable; has produced over a million dollars worth of community service; allows for a $2,000 fine credit for completing a GED; returns a financial surplus every year; and increased revenues by $800,000/year, all at a cost of approximately $30,000 a year.

Some have referred to Pay or Appear as a “Debtor’s Prison.” Please understand, NOBODY GOES TO JAIL BECAUSE THEY CAN’T PAY THEIR FINES! Only if they: 1) refuse to pay their fines; 2) refuse to do community service; and 3) refuse to appear in court as directed will they get a $150.00 warrant.

When the ACLU reviewed the program, they did not recommend any substantive changes concluding, “Judge Porter is committed to administering the program in a way that is fair to individuals and really accounts for the individual’s ability to pay, and that is exactly what we had hoped.” – ACLU (PDN 3/5/14)

The only alternative is sending fines to a collection agency – where offenders will simply ignore them. (Collection agencies only collect 1.3 cents-on-the-dollar.) That will result in a loss of $800,000 in revenues, which will have to be covered with your tax dollars. This will reduce offender accountability and shift the financial burden from the offenders to the taxpayers.

A District Court Judge sets the standards to which offenders are held accountable. Over the past 12 years, Judge Porter has set high standards and expectations. He has also implemented many programs that give offenders the opportunity to succeed. Those standards and opportunities have been the catalyst that changed many lives for the better.

If we ignore bad behavior, we will get more of it. If we lower our standards and fail to hold offenders accountable by reducing/eliminating jail time and abandoning Pay or Appear, we invite more criminal behavior and jeopardize public safety.Judge Porter is endorsed by 50 judges and by Clallam County Sheriff Bill Benedict.

Please vote for Judge Rick Porter – balancing accountability with compassion.

Cathy Marshall

“A judge has a crucial role in enhancing equal access to justice. As such, it is my goal to ensure access to justice in criminal and civil matters for the citizens of Clallam County of all incomes, backgrounds and special needs. To do this I will use every available resource and tap into new and creative resources to improve public justice and accountability in District 1 Court.” – Cathy Marshall

Cathy is a native Washingtonian and has lived in Sequim for four and a half years. She has been an attorney since 1993 when she graduated from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University. She has been licensed to practice law in both Utah and Washington. Prior to law school, Cathy received her bachelor of arts degree in Mass Communication from the University of Utah. Cathy is married to Brian Marshall and has two children and four stepchildren, as well as 15 brilliant grandchildren.

Currently, Cathy is an Assistant Attorney General at the Port Angeles Regional Services Division office of the state Attorney General. She represents clients like Peninsula College, the Department of Social and Health Services and the Department of Labor and Industries, to name a few. She also supervises six employees and works to maintain a high level of professionalism in keeping with the AGO’s expectations of being the best public law office in the country. She manages the day-to-day affairs of the office and works to maintain a positive presence in the community. Cathy has been an AAG for 9.5 years and was a criminal defense attorney prior to that for six years.

In conjunction with Clallam-Jefferson Pro Bono Lawyers, Cathy was instrumental in creating Law at the Landing, a free legal clinic in Clallam County that engages local volunteer attorneys to provide their legal expertise at no cost. She is also the 2014 president of the Clallam County Bar Association, a member of the Sequim Sunrise Rotary, a performer with the Northwest Women’s Chorale and a law school mentor.

Cathy strongly believes that people who commit crimes should be held accountable for their actions. However, she also feels that the current pay-or-appear program in District 1 Court forces people to be mired in the legal system far longer than necessary and creates a ‘debtor’s prison’ that preys on the poorest of the poor and costs the taxpayers ridicuous amounts of money.

Rather than incarcerate people for not being able to pay their fines, she will find alternative methods to address this issue such as enhanced diversion programs and community service. “It’s important to be tough on crime,” Cathy states, “but we have to be smart on crime as well.”

Justice Sonia Sotomayer once said her judicial philosophy is simple: “Fidelity to the law. The task of a judge is not to make law, it is to apply the law.” That is Cathy’s philosophy as well and she concludes, “I will be a judge who faithfully applies the law.”