Decision to remove Black judge reversed by state supreme court, cites racism could have been involved
The Washington Supreme Court overturned a recommendation to censure and remove a municipal court judge last month, saying the disciplinary action was inappropriate for the accusations, and racism in the justice system could have been at play. (Photo from Shutterstock)
The Washington Supreme Court overturned a recommendation to censure and remove a municipal court judge last month, saying the disciplinary action was inappropriate for the accusations that she was "rude, condescending or harsh toward staff and litigants,” and racism in the justice system could have been at play.
The recommendation by the Washington Commission on Judicial Conduct to ban Judge Tracy S. Flood of the Bremerton Municipal Court in Washington from serving as a judge in the state was not an appropriate sanction, according to the Dec. 4 opinion written by Chief Justice Debra L. Stephens.
The Kitsap Sun has coverage.
The opinion noted that Flood is a first-time judge and is the first Black woman elected in Kitsap County, Washington, according to the story.
“Some staff were consciously or unconsciously resistant toward change in court administration and critical of her leadership as a Black woman,” according to the opinion.
The story noted that the court’s opinion stated that staff pushback to Flood’s actions may have escalated tensions.
Also, the opinion disagreed with the recommendation of the commission, an 11-member volunteer commission that investigates claims of judicial misconduct, that Flood would not be amenable to improvement, the story says. But Flood did retain a 30-day suspension, according to the story.
The story added that Flood responded to the Kitsap Sun article, taking issue with the commission’s findings and the paper’s past reporting on her case.
“The public lynching which the newspaper and the CJC conducted was not to protect the public but to engage in a continuing campaign to discredit and election,” Flood wrote in an email, according to the story. “As the first woman and Black woman judge to be elected in Kitsap County, I ran on change and am not nor will I be the last paving the way for more diversity in the courts both city and county.”
Flood, who was elected in November 2021 to replace retiring Bremerton Municipal Court Judge James Docter, did not run for reelection in 2025, according to the story.
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