If you are a candidate seeking appointed or elected judicial office in the State of Washington, we invite you to seek an evaluation from the Washington State Veterans Bar Association. Judicial evaluations are conducted by members of our Steering Committee, which will typically return an evaluation within ten business days of submission. 

The current Judicial Evaluations chair is Hon. Ron Cox ([email protected]).  You may email Judge Cox questions about the process. 

The WSVBA evaluates candidates seeking appointment or election to:

1. The Washington State Supreme Court
2. The Washington State Court of Appeals
3. The United States District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Washington, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (as well as any other federal court for which a candidate from Washington seeks an evaluation)
4. Superior Courts located in a county within the State of Washington

*Note that we do not currently evaluate candidates for District or Municipal courts.

In addition to evaluating candidates for judicial positions, the Steering Committee, at its discretion, may evaluate candidates for the Washington State Bar Association Board of Governors as well as executive appointments to state commissions, boards, public agencies, or other elected political office.

The Evaluation Process

In order to be evaluated by the Steering Committee, the candidate must complete and submit to our Judicial Evaluations Chair, Ron Cox ([email protected]) and CC Justin Lonergan ([email protected]) the following documents:

1. The Governor's Uniform Judicial Evaluation Questionnaire with applicable attachments, including an original writing sample; &
2. The WSVBA Judicial Application Supplement (WSVBA -Judicial Application Supplement.doc);

The WSVBA does not conduct interviews as the members of the Steering Committee live and practice throughout the state except for positions on the Washington State Supreme Court.

Once a request for judicial evaluation is made, the WSVBA Judicial Evaluations Chair will contact you to coordinate the evaluation process. As the Steering Committee is comprised of volunteers, the candidate is encouraged to submit all application materials as early as possible to ensure timely review and evaluation.

To complete its evaluation process, the full WSVBA Steering Committee votes on the final evaluation.  All deliberations, except for the final rating, are confidential. Candidates will receive one of the following ratings based on their application and materials:

1. Exceptionally Well-Qualified
2. Well-Qualified
3. Qualified
4. Unqualified (generally reserved for lawyers with disciplinary history, or deemed lacking minimal judicial temperament)

Judicial evaluations generally take around ten business days and are not conducted between December 24 and January 5.