Judge Kevin Korsmo

Elect Judge Kevin Korsmo

THE RELEVANT CHOICE

"The Spokesman-Review says 'Korsmo a clear choice'"
(click above to read Spokesman-Review editorial)

Rated "Exceptionally well qualified" by both the Washington Women Lawyers
and Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys

Kevin Korsmo was appointed as Judge of the Court of Appeals, Division Three, by Governor Chris Gregoire on February 13, 2008. Prior to that appointment, Kevin had served as a senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for Spokane County since 1990. During his tenure with the office, Kevin developed and managed the Appeals Unit and managed over 2000 cases in the Court of Appeals and Washington Supreme Court during that time period. He argued several hundred cases in the Court of Appeals and 53 cases in the Washington Supreme Court.

The 2006 case load filings show that nearly 2/3 of the case work of the Court of Appeals involves criminal law cases. Criminal appeals make up 36% of the filings, while personal restraint petitions constitute another 23%. Discretionary review filings, many of which are cases seeking review of district court criminal case rulings via the RALJ process or are attempts at interlocutory review of pending superior court cases, are another 12% of the workload. See Case Load

Kevin’s experience in criminal law filled a need at the Court of Appeals since the other four judges all came from civil practice experience. Kevin also came from a high volume practice – the same way judges at the Court of Appeals must work. Each Court of Appeals judge will write about 80 opinions per year. By contrast, the Washington Supreme Court, with nine justices to share writing responsibilities, will author about 120 opinions per year. Kevin’s experience has permitted him to fit right in to the workload of a very busy court.

Division Three of the Court of Appeals consists of the twenty counties of eastern Washington. District One, which Kevin and Judge John Schultheis represent, covers Ferry, Lincoln, Okanogan, Pend Orielle, Spokane, and Stevens counties.