Among the glossy 6-inch-by-11-inch campaign mailers I received was one from the Committee to Elect Suzanne Hayden to District Court 1 Judge.
As a retired 20-year Clallam County District Court adult misdemeanant probation officer, I was surprised and gratified to read her first pledge: to “turn over the current judge-driven probation calendar to where it belongs — probation officers.”
You see, years ago, Judge Rick Porter entered office with the notion that probation officers were ineffectual and should be replaced by a part-time “commissioner” who could take immediate corrective action in the event of a violation of conditions of probation.
This was called “bench probation.”
Turns out the judge could not take immediate action; the defendant was entitled to a defense process, which generally takes a few weeks.
Instead, they began a process where defendants presented themselves in court every month or two for a two-minute compliance review.
Hayden should be recognized as understanding the difference between bench probation and active supervision by trained criminal justice professionals.
It is doubtful her opponent, Dave Neupert, has the same standpoint, given his close working relationship with Judge Porter.
Mark Schrader,
Port Angeles