‘People just really want to be heard’: New Spokane County judge Marla Polin sworn in

Spokane judges old and new welcomed Marla Polin into their ranks Tuesday evening, when she was sworn in at Gonzaga Law School.

Polin was appointed to replace Spokane County Superior Court Judge Harold Clarke III, who retired earlier this month.

As Polin took the oath of office, she looked down at a book on the introduction to torts that her uncle Larry Newman gifted her when she went off to law school.

Polin said she knew she wanted to be a lawyer since she was 10 years old, inspired by her uncle. She only deviated once, when she had a short spell of wanting to become a rabbi instead, she said.

She grew up in Alabama and attended the University of Florida before taking a gap year to work with her uncle in real estate law, study for the LSAT and check out law schools.

“It was the best year of my life,” Polin said with tears in her eyes.

Now decades later, Polin has surpassed the man who inspired her to become an attorney, Newman said.

“I am so proud of her,” Newman said. “She’s going to make a terrific judge.”

When Polin moved to Spokane to attend Gonzaga Law School, she thought she’d return home to Alabama and work with her uncle in real estate law, so she wanted to try something different in law school.

“I thought I would never see the inside of a courtroom, ever!” Polin said.

She began working in criminal defense while still in school and loved it, she said.

By the time she graduated from Gonzaga in 2005, Polin decided to stay in Spokane and work as a criminal defense attorney. For someone who never thought she’d see the inside of a courtroom, a lot of Polin’s big life moments have happened in court, including meeting her husband, George Gagnon, a deputy prosecutor in family law who was covering a criminal case for a co-worker. The couple share three children.

In 2008, she began work on the civil commitment trial of Kevin Coe, also know as the South Hill Rapist. The high-profile trial was her first civil commitment case, and Coe remains civilly committed after a rape .

“It was amazing to see the volume of discovery,” Polin said.

In the complex and extremely public cases, Polin remembers attorneys for the state, Todd Bowers and Malcolm Ross, being gracious.

“I don’t think my bar card was really dry, and they knew that,” Polin said.

“I will never forget the kindness that they showed me.”

That supportive and professional relationship among attorneys is one Polin has tried to emulate throughout her career.

Shortly after Coe was committed, Polin started her own firm. In 2012, she got a contract with the state to represent sex offenders in their civil commitment trials.

She enjoyed the unique area of law.

“I found it really interesting,” Polin said. “It’s not an issue of who done it, usually. We know who did it and now it’s more of the mental health aspect of, why was it done? What’s the likelihood you’re going to do it again?”

Polin had many long-term clients and was able to not only watch their rehabilitation process, but get to know their families and the victims over a period of years.

She also got to argue in front of judges in most Washington counties. That led her to apply to be appointed to a judgeship last year.

“As a lawyer, you represent one person,” Polin said. “I think as a judge it’s really cool to see how you’re assisting more the community as a whole.”

Clarke was thrilled to hear Polin would be his replacement.

“She is an excellent lawyer and she has high professionalism,” Clarke said.

He noted Polin gets along well with people – not just her fellow attorneys but court staff, too.

Presiding Judge Julie McKay said Polin’s not afraid to take on difficult cases and has a reputation of being extremely professional, two characteristics that will be useful on the bench.

Polin’s unique experience in civil jury trials allows her to bring a perspective to the bench that is lacking, Judge John Cooney said.

“Ms. Polin is hard-working and possesses an extraordinary ability to work well and relate well with others,” Cooney said.

Polin hopes everyone who steps into her courtroom will feel “heard and considered,” she said.

“What I’ve seen with so many people, both with victims, witnesses, just everybody, is they just really want to be heard,” Polin said.