PORT TOWNSEND — The governor’s office is fast-tracking the appointment of a new Jefferson County Superior Court judge to fill the vacancy created by last weekend’s death of Thomas Majhan.
Superior Court Clerk Marianne Walters said Thursday that the process of picking a new judge usually takes about three weeks, but will be speeded because Jefferson County has only one judge.
Gov. Gary Locke will make the appointment after interviewing finalists chosen by Jennifer Joly, his general counsel.
Joly, according to Walters, will interview every attorney who files an application for the judgeship.
Whoever is appointed will serve until the fall election. Superior Court judges are required to have law degrees and face election every four years.
Majhan, 67, elected to the Superior Court bench in 2000, died of cancer Sunday afternoon at Harrison Memorial Hospital in Bremerton.
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The rest of the story appears in Friday’s Peninsula Daily News.