Municipal Court Judge.
Seattle Municipal Court's seven judges
hear cases involving misdemeanors
and gross misdemeanors, including domestic violence,
DUI, parking tickets, and traffic infractions.
The municipal court also hears cases
involving civil offenses such as violations of the city's fire,
housing, or zoning codes.
Each municipal court judge serves a four-year term
in this nonpartisan office.
This year, all seven judges are up for election.
All voters in Seattle
can vote in each of the seven judicial races.
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-Hi, my name is Adam Eisenberg,
and I'm running for reelection
to Seattle Municipal Court Position 3.
I joined the bench in 2017 with important
and diverse legal experience --
seven years as a criminal prosecutor,
five years as a civil defense attorney,
and 13 years as a commissioner and magistrate.
I also bring lived experience as a Jewish person and a gay man.
As a judge, I believe in restorative justice.
Restorative justice demands that we recognize our courts
have been plagued by systemic racism, bias, and prejudice.
Generations of injustice must be corrected
through honest dialogue
and reforms that address the root causes of criminal behavior
while providing alternatives
to the traditional response of jail and fines.
Among the crimes we see in Seattle Municipal Court
are domestic violence offenses.
I grew up with an abusive father,
and I know treatment is critical to healing the survivors,
their families, and the abusers.
That's why I helped create
the Domestic Violence Intervention Project,
a community-based program
that serves as an alternative to jail.
DVIP provides individualized treatment
to break cycles of abuse and trauma.
On a lighter note, I am co-director
of Youth Traffic Court.
That's where Garfield High School students
come to our court once a month and serve as judges,
jurors, prosecutors, and defense attorneys for other teens
who have gotten tickets in Seattle.
I am proud to have been chosen by my colleagues
to serve as their presiding judge,
and in my reelection bid I've been endorsed
by former Gov. Christine Gregoire,
Supreme Court Chief Justice Steven González
and Justice Mary Yu, County Councilmembers
Jeanne Kohl-Welles and Dave Upthegrove,
City Council President Debora Juarez,
and Councilmember Andrew Lewis.
I've also been endorsed by local democrats, unions,
prosecutors, public defenders, defense attorneys and many more.
The King County Bar Association has rated me
exceptionally well-qualified, and I earned the same rating
from four minority bar associations
during my first term.
I am committed to healthy, just, and inclusive communities,
and I would be honored to have your vote. Thank you.
-I'm a first-generation Indian American,
a child of immigrants,
born and raised in the Pacific Northwest,
and would be the first South Asian woman
elected as judge in Seattle Municipal Court.
Seattle faces serious issues with recidivism,
chronic homelessness, and non-treated mental illness
that have not been addressed by the existing judges.
The only method to hold the court accountable
for its failure to act urgently in Seattle's interest
is to challenge the currently seated bench.
I'm running against a judge who, in my opinion,
is the most biased, ineffective,
and pro-prosecution judge on that bench.
My career as a public defender
was a crucible of constant interaction with the courts,
the prosecutors, defendants, and the community.
I've taken 11 criminal cases to trial and prepared hundreds
that were either dismissed or pleaded before seating a jury,
all to outcomes that were the best
I could obtain for my clients
and aligned with a profound respect for the law.
My experience taught me to understand
that every defendant, witness, and victim
is a human being with their own challenges
and struggles who may be triggered by the trauma
they have experienced in their life --
a compassionate perspective that is under-appreciated
by the existing bench.
I've practiced in district courts
in both Snohomish and King County,
and most recently in Seattle Municipal Court.
During this final 10-month stretch in Seattle,
I saw a dramatic rise in petty crimes of desperation,
exacerbated by untreated mental illness,
a decline in the services available to defendants
and their families and a disturbing unwillingness
by the court to acknowledge
or address the issues that truly drive misdemeanor crime.
I stand for compassion, fairness,
and restorative justice,
and I've received exclusive endorsements
from the King County Democrats,
the Young Democrats of King County,
the Democrats for Diversity and Inclusion,
the Women's Political Caucus,
the Democratic Legislative Districts
of the 46th, 37th, and 43rd, and more.
I believe this support reflects that the current court fails
to adequately support public safety,
has not earned the confidence of Seattle and must do better.
If elected, I will elevate the standard of judicial competence
and integrity in Seattle.
I would be honored to have your vote.
♪♪