SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — As Election Day approaches, Spokane County voters will choose who they want to handle cases in the district court.
Nicholas Ulrich and Michael Addams, who each have more than a decade of legal experience, are the two candidates competing for District Court Judge 4. That court deals with lower-level cases including traffic infractions, misdemeanors and small claims.
“This is ground-level stuff in the criminal justice system,” Addams said. “This makes a huge difference to how day-to-day life is here in Spokane.”
Addams is the prosecutor for the City of Cheney and an instructor at Eastern Washington University. He also fills in as a district court judge and emphasizes leadership skills from 24 years in the military.
If he sits on the bench, he wants to see more therapeutic courts in the county.
“When I am looking at a case, I am thinking about public safety,” Addams said. “But also while we are looking at the case, evaluating what kind of resources might be available to help get this individual out of the cycle that they might be stuck in.”
Like Addams, Ulrich also fills in as a district court judge. He works at the Attorney General’s office and emphasizes what he sees as his broad legal experience.
If he is elected, Ulrich wants to improve efficiency by upgrading technology in the courthouse.
“We can’t just compromise the procedural justice by implementing technologies, but we do have an opportunity in the next year to try to bring the court forward from a technology and software standpoint,” Ulrich said.
When it comes to judging a case, Ulrich said there are several principles that guide him.
“I usually say we have to begin every case with empathy, but we have to end it with accountability,” he said. “We need accountability for the offenders, we need accountability to make sure the rule of law is upheld in our system. Otherwise, we’re not going to be able to have the wonderful community that we all know and love.”
Whoever is elected will serve a four-year term on the bench.
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