A special ruling: judge of the year

It was Wednesday afternoon in King County Superior Court Judge Mary Yu's courtroom and the defendant was not cooperating — apparently a habit of his.

No matter how many times it was explained to him, he refused to sign routine paperwork and be fingerprinted, wrongly convinced he would be giving up his legal rights.

While some judges understandably would be frustrated — especially considering most of the courthouse had already emptied in anticipation of the Thanksgiving holiday — Yu was in no hurry. She said "please" and "thank you" and took considerable pains to explain everything. Repeatedly.

The strategy worked, although what should have taken a few minutes wound up taking nearly an hour. But justice was served: a passion of Yu, who recently was named the state's judge of the year by an organization of prominent trial lawyers.

The award, from the Washington chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates, was presented earlier this month. The organization includes both plaintiff and defense lawyers, which indicates Yu is not perceived as favoring one side or the other.

The award comes just five years after she was first appointed to the bench by then-Gov. Gary Locke. At that time, she was just seven years out of law school, and some grumbled that Yu was elevated too quickly.

"That was the conversation among those who didn't know her," said Supreme Court Justice Bobbe Bridge. "Those who knew her had no doubt" she would make an excellent judge, she added. "What makes Mary stand out is her high level of passion and commitment to doing the right thing. It sounds almost mundane but she really is" that committed.

Yu, 48, thanks her parents for that drive. Growing up in working-class Chicago with a Chinese father and Mexican mother, Yu was raised to believe in the power of education.

"My parents came here with a vision of trying to have a better life," she said. "And it worked."

Yu studied theology and got a job with the Archdiocese of Chicago working on poverty issues. At the time, insurance red-lining and housing discrimination were the biggest issues of the day, and the Church did its best to combat them. It was a lesson to Yu.

"The Church's mission is to try to persuade people to do good things," she said, but "the law, frankly, compels people to do the right thing."

That idea convinced Yu to start a second career as a lawyer, graduating from Notre Dame and taking a job in the King County Prosecutor's Office, where she became Norm Maleng's deputy chief of staff.

King County Executive Ron Sims, who tried to lure her away from Maleng's office, said then that "he'll have her for a while but not for too long."

Sims was right. In 2000, she was appointed to the Superior Court bench and has been twice re-elected to the post.

As a judge, Yu has mentored dozens of law students, voluntarily taking on a task that is important but time-consuming.

There is no more coveted position than being one of Judge Yu's interns or clerks, said Seattle University Law School Dean Kellye Testy.

Yu also periodically takes her courtroom to Seattle University, where students can watch real lawyers in actual trials.

"Mary understands the power of law and ... how much potential it has to be helpful in resolving conflict," Testy said. "She takes very seriously this duty, making sure law is a healing profession and not one that makes conflict worse."