Appeals judge retires early
Longtime appellate judge Kenneth Kato has officially retired from the bench, pending the announcement of his replacement by Gov. Chris Gregoire.
Kato, who was appointed to the Washington state Court of Appeals in 1997 to replace retiring judge Philip Thompson, retires almost two years before his six-year term was set to expire in 2008.
“It’s one of those personal decisions,” Kato said Monday. “I’ll be going into work in private judging, mediation and arbitration.”
Until Gregoire appoints Kato’s replacement, he will continue to work as a judge pro-tem.
“I’ve been doing this for 19-plus years and it’s time for me,” said Kato, 57. “I’m kind of looking forward to it.”
His colleague on the state appellate bench, Judge John Schultheis, said Kato will be missed.
“He’s a very, very capable guy and a very intelligent person,” Schultheis said of Kato. “I can’t speak highly enough about him as far as his legal ability is concerned and as a person.”
Kato worked as a private attorney for 13 years after earning his graduate and law degrees from the University of Washington.
In 1988, Kato started working as a court commissioner for District III of the Court of Appeals, which covers Ferry, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Okanogan and Stevens counties.
In 1996, Kato was appointed to serve as a Spokane County Superior Court judge. A year later, he was selected to replace Thompson.
“I don’t have any regrets,” Kato said. “I’ve enjoyed my time here and serving the people. One of the best jobs you can probably have in the world is being an appellate court judge.”
Gregoire’s office is currently accepting applications, but the governor’s general counsel, Richard Mitchell, said he would not identify who or how many attorneys have applied.
There is no fixed time frame for when Gregoire will make her selection “other than trying to do this as quickly as possible, while getting as many applications as we can,” Mitchell said. “This is the only vacancy we are working on.”
According to its Web site, the Judicial Recommendation Committee of the Washington State Bar Association will accept applications until the end of this month from attorneys and judges who live in District III.
The committee will then hold a special meeting on March 22 to interview candidates for the position. Those recommendations will then be forwarded to Gregoire for her consideration.
Deputy Spokane County Prosecutor Brian O’Brien, who lost to Kato in the 2002 election, said he has submitted his application for consideration.
Others from the Spokane-area legal community expected to be up for consideration include Deputy Prosecutor Kevin Korsmo, who specializes in appeals, and Superior Court judges Tari Eitzen and Linda Tompkins, none of whom could be reached late Monday.