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In re Kaiser, 111 Wash.2d 275, 759 P.2d 392

Facts

In 1986, Judge Kaiser faced a strong challenge from William Roarty, a Seattle city attorney known for handling DWI prosecutions. As Kaiser campaigned to retain his seat, he made statements suggesting that Roarty's financial support came primarily from DWI defense attorneys, and he portrayed himself as tough on drunk driving. These statements were made in the context of a highly competitive election, where Roarty had received the Democratic Party's endorsement, which Kaiser believed was detrimental to his nonpartisan campaign.

In 1986, Judge Kaiser of the Northeast District Court in King County faced an especially strong challenge from William Roarty, a Seattle city attorney primarily handling driving while intoxicated (DWI) prosecutions. Judge Kaiser lost the primary vote to Roarty by a significant margin. As he prepared his campaign to save his seat, Judge Kaiser discovered that Roarty had successfully capitalized on his experience in DWI enforcement to create the impression that he would improve DWI enforcement as district judge.

Issue

Did Judge Kaiser's campaign statements violate the Canons of Judicial Conduct, and are those statements protected by the First Amendment?

We hold that campaign statements made by District Judge James C. Kaiser violate Canons 1 , 2(A) and 7 7 of the Code of Judicial Conduct.

Rule

The Canons of Judicial Conduct prohibit judges from making statements of party affiliation and from making pledges or promises of politically favored treatment. The court also considered the constitutional protections of free speech in the context of judicial campaigns.

Those Canons require a judge to uphold the integrity of the judiciary, prohibit statements of party affiliation and prohibit pledges or promises of politically favored treatment.

Analysis

The court found that Judge Kaiser's statements regarding his opponent's financial backing and his own toughness on DWI cases violated the Canons. While some statements were deemed to be constitutionally protected, others were found to undermine the integrity of the judiciary and were not protected by free speech rights. The court emphasized the importance of maintaining public confidence in the impartiality of the judiciary.

The Commission served a complaint on Judge Kaiser in March 1987. A hearing was held before the Special Master in May 1987. He concluded that Judge Kaiser's campaign statements violated Canons 1 , 2(A) and 7 7 of the Code of Judicial Conduct (CJC). The Commission unanimously held there was clear, cogent and convincing evidence to support the Special Master's conclusions, and recommended that Judge Kaiser be censured.

Conclusion

The court concluded that Judge Kaiser violated the Canons of Judicial Conduct and imposed a censure as the appropriate sanction for his misconduct.

Accordingly, we censure Judge Kaiser. Such censure shall be administered by this court.

Who won?

The state prevailed in the disciplinary proceedings against Judge Kaiser, as the court found that his campaign statements violated the Canons of Judicial Conduct.

The Commission unanimously held there was clear, cogent and convincing evidence to support the Special Master's conclusions, and recommended that Judge Kaiser be censured.

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