Transferred King County District Court judge says he's being punished

A King County District Court judge who's been reassigned from Redmond to Seattle after the prosecutor's office began contesting his assignment to criminal cases says the transfer is tantamount to a sanction.

"I'm being sanctioned right now by Judge Linde, as far as I'm concerned," said Judge Peter Nault of the transfer announced recently by Presiding Judge Barbara Linde.

Nault says the only body that can sanction state judges is the state Supreme Court, but he said he views the move as similar punishment.

Linde said she certainly disagreed with Nault's feeling that he was being sanctioned.

"It's not punishment," said Linde. "I don't view it that way."

The change in assignments resulted from a recent practice in which the King County Prosecutor's Office started filing affidavits contesting Nault's jurisdiction in every criminal proceeding brought before him at the Redmond court.

The affidavits didn't specify a reason for contesting Nault's jurisdiction, but Mark Larson, chief criminal deputy, said his office is concerned with the judge's rulings involving such issues as drunken-driving cases and sentencing guidelines dating back to at least 2005.

That led to Linde's decision to change Nault's assignment to another court. He will begin hearing civil cases in Seattle district court starting Monday. The change will be in effect through the end of the year, but what happens to Nault after that is unknown.

"My business is to run the court," Linde said.

She said the Redmond court hears only criminal cases and that the inability of Nault to continue to hear criminal cases, because of the prosecutorial affidavits, would seriously hinder court operations.

"Our intention is to have all the judges working at full capacity," she said.

Nault said he could go back to hearing civil cases in Issaquah, where he once served, but doubts he'll resume hearing criminal cases in Redmond.

Nault was on vacation when the change was made public and was not available for comment. Back on the job last week, however, Nault said he is displeased by the change.

"It becomes quite obvious that what they're [the prosecutor's office] doing is judge-shopping," said Nault of the affidavits. "Of course I don't like it."

The transfer also raises questions about whom judges work for, Nault said. He said that since voters elect judges, they are his employer.

But a quandary arises because an ordinance adopted by the Metropolitan King County Council does allow the presiding judge to change judicial assignments.

Nault notes that he was elected by voters on the Eastside, which he said would seem to raise questions about his assignment to a court in Seattle, and yet such an assignment is allowed by county ordinance.

Voting rules call for judges to be elected from five electoral divisions, with Nault elected by voters in the Northeast Division. One of the requirements for election is that candidates must reside in the electoral district when they run, Linde said.

But the county ordinance allows for the temporary reassignment of judges outside the electoral district where they were candidates, Linde said, and that's what's happening with Nault.

Peyton Whitely: 206-464-2259 or pwhitely@seattletimes.com