Questions for District Court candidate George Steele

1. Why are you running for office? 

I have been honored to serve the people of Mason County as their District Court Judge since 2018. I seek re-election because it is an honor to serve our community. Also, I believe it is necessary to uphold the constitution and rules of law in a process which can ensure an orderly and just society. As I promised, I have worked hard to uphold those laws. I have focused on being fair and impartialto  provide justice to all people who came before the court.

2. What are your qualifications?

I started practicing law in 1982.  Most of my practice has been centered on litigation.  I have been both a prosecutor and defense lawyer.  Much of that practice was in district and municipal courts. I also litigated numerous cases in superior courts. My cases have been both criminal and civil.  I have also had some experience in Federal Court.  

Additionally, I served as a judge pro-tem in the District Court and Shelton Municipal court.  I began my service as the Shelton Municipal Court judge in February 2009 and remained in that position until I began my term in the Mason County District Court on January 1, 2019.  I have served as the Mason County District Court judge since then and helped steer the court through many challenges.

A major challenge was the COVID-19 virus.  The Washington State Supreme Court began shutting down the courts in March of 2020.  There was a moratorium on jury trials from March 13, 2020 through July 6, 2020.   I lobbied the Washington State Supreme Court to allow more court hearings.  We resumed jury trials as soon as the moratorium ended and we did so safely. We were one of the firsts courts of limited jurisdiction to restart jury trials. As a result, Mason County District Court does not have a backlog of cases awaiting trial. 

I am a problem solver and I made changes to improve our operations.  I am a fair person and I strive to make decisions that are fair, based on the facts and the law.  I will continue to do so.    

3. What criteria do you use for deciding whether to impose or affirm sentences outside of standard ranges? 

Unlike Superior Court, District Court is a court of limited jurisdiction and we have indeterminate sentencing. That means we do not have standard ranges.  There are some charges that have minimum sentences. There are times when I have gone above the minimum sentence when the circumstances warranted it. It really comes down to what the facts are and what is fair.  By the same token, I have gone below what both attorneys were recommending as a sentence, if the facts warranted it.  In the end, what really matters is doing justice, which means fairly applying the facts to the law and exercising sound discretion.  

4. What do you perceive as the greatest obstacles to justice, if any?

One obstacle now is the large delay in getting competency evaluations for those who are suspected of being mentally incompetent to stand trial.  Unless a defendant is being held in jail, mental competency evaluations are being delayed for months, whether they are outpatient based or in Western States Hospital.  I see the time line widening based on recent cases. This is terribly unjust because it leaves cases in a holding pattern which is not fair to the defendant or the State of Washington.

Another obstacle is the extreme delay in getting blood results returned on DUI cases.  An increasing number of our DUI cases are cases involving blood draws and it takes the better part of a year to get the results.  This is not acceptable.  It is unfair to both the defendant and the State of Washington. This is something I bring up often in my role as a commissioner on the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, where I represent the judges. 

5. What are the biggest challenges facing the district court system and how do you plan to address them in Mason County? 

The District Court has gone through many great challenges and we met them.  I believe the main challenges right now are to continue to provide the services the court is tasked to provide, including probation.  We have new laws and court rules that we are implementing in our practice. The District Court has an excellent staff and we work hard to carry our out functions. 

I campaigned in 2018 on bringing to voters’ attention the situation with the jail not having the capacity to hold everyone with warrants until they can be brought before the court.  That is still an issue and it restricts the Court’s ability to get defendants in court when they refuse to appear voluntarily.  I have been vocal about the need and will continue to do so.

Making interpreter services available is also a challenge as the number of different languages has increased.  There are, for some languages, a scarcity of interpreters.  I have prepared videos of the rights the court is required to give to new defendants and had them translated into three different languages.  We continue to be diligent in locating interpreters as the need occurs.