On Sept. 25, the Spokane Branch of the NAACP hosted the first of two candidate forums. This forum facilitated dialogue with four Spokane Municipal Court Judge candidates running for Positions 2 and 3. The following summary highlights their responses to key questions, offering voters insight to support informed decision-making in November. The next candidate forum will be held on October 15 and will feature the candidates running for Spokane City Hall.
Sarah Freedman (Position 3 – Challenger)
Opening Statement
Sarah Freedman, a trial attorney with nearly a decade of courtroom experience, is running for Position 3. Originally from New York and trained at Seattle University School of Law, she has worked as both a prosecutor and defense attorney, including public defense conflict cases. Freedman emphasizes empathy, accountability, and reform in court practice.
Addressing Implicit Bias
Freedman acknowledges her lack of judicial experience but draws from her observations of judges statewide. She proposes using recesses as a tool when bias may interfere, considering recusal mid-case if necessary, and signing affidavits of prejudice to protect fairness.
Challenges Facing Municipal Court
She points to misallocation of resources, citing overuse of commissioner dockets and probation for individuals who don’t meet high-needs thresholds. Freedman warns of increased strain due to state-mandated limits on public defender caseloads, without matching funding for more attorneys.
Community Engagement and Equal Access
As a small business owner, Freedman also provides pro bono and “low bono” legal services, particularly in protection order cases. She highlights her neurodivergence (severe ADHD) as shaping her heightened awareness of fairness and inclusion, and her connection with clients from queer, trans, and neurodivergent communities.
Rehabilitation vs. Punishment
She supports expanding therapeutic courts, particularly by incorporating trauma-informed treatments like Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) with practitioners who share cultural or lived experiences with defendants.
Legal Financial Obligations (LFOs)
Freedman observes that Spokane’s municipal court already avoids excessive fines compared to other jurisdictions. She supports close review of fines, questions DUI recoupment costs, and values consistent tracking of infractions to prevent unfair defaults.
Reforms and Innovations
She advocates a victim-centered approach in criminal protection orders. Specifically, Freedman would ask victims if they have a safety plan and if they know how to seek a civil protection order, while providing information sheets on available services.
Mary Logan (Position 2 – Incumbent)
Opening Statement
Judge Mary Logan, seeking re-election to Position 2, has served on the bench for 16 years. She emphasizes impartiality, access to justice, and programs that reduce recidivism without over-reliance on incarceration. Logan was rated “exceptionally well qualified” by the Spokane County Bar Association.
Addressing Implicit Bias
Logan stresses awareness and self-reflection. She recalls adjusting her response to an aggressive victim after recognizing her bias, underscoring the importance of pausing, listening, and reassessing.
Challenges Facing Municipal Court
She argues the main issue is perception: municipal court is often sidelined as “lesser” than other branches of city government. This limits its visibility and resources. She calls for recognition of the court as an essential, independent branch.
Community Engagement and Equal Access
Logan cites long-standing service on statewide diversity and therapeutic court committees. She emphasizes procedural fairness–ensuring all defendants feel heard and respected, which she believes reduces re-traumatization and increases acceptance of outcomes.
Rehabilitation vs. Punishment
Logan co-founded Spokane’s therapeutic courts, including the Veterans Enhanced Treatment Court and Community Court. She advocates rehabilitative approaches that wrap treatment around defendants while maintaining accountability.
Legal Financial Obligations (LFOs)
Logan emphasizes compliance with Supreme Court guidance requiring ability-to-pay assessments. She highlights the court’s participation in clinics such as WarrantFest, offering accessible venues for individuals to resolve warrants and LFOs without fear of arrest.
Reforms and Innovations
She points to Community Court as a model of innovation, with its partnerships with over 100 service providers and recent expansions into medically assisted treatment. Logan would also support restoring Saturday court to improve accessibility.
Gloria Ochoa-Bruck (Position 3 – Incumbent)
Opening Statement
Judge Gloria Ochoa-Bruck, seeking re-election to Position 3, is the first person of color to serve on Spokane’s municipal bench. The daughter of farmworkers and former undocumented immigrants, she stresses balanced justice–rehabilitation through services and restorative practices combined with compassionate accountability.
Addressing Implicit Bias
Ochoa-Bruck stresses education and self-reflection. She cites a personal example of discovering bias in her rulings toward women in certain cases, which led her to adjust her approach to ensure equity.
Challenges Facing Municipal Court
She underscores the importance of preserving the probation department and enhanced probation programs, which provide risk-needs assessments and supportive case management for high-risk individuals. Funding shortfalls threaten these critical services.
Community Engagement and Equal Access
With 25 years in criminal justice, Ochoa-Bruck has served as Spokane’s multicultural affairs director, volunteered widely, and held board positions with Empire Health Foundation, Providence Mission Board, and Partners with Families and Children. She has also presided in tribal courts, bringing awareness of the disproportionate impacts on Native and Black communities.
Rehabilitation vs. Punishment
She strongly supports therapeutic and restorative justice courts. Ochoa-Bruck emphasizes evidence-based practices, citing DUI court’s 6% recidivism rate as proof of their effectiveness. She advocates expanding access despite funding constraints.
Legal Financial Obligations (LFOs)
Ochoa-Bruck notes that courts cannot impose LFOs on indigent defendants. She highlights the hidden costs of childcare, transportation, and lost wages and supports staggered dockets to reduce those burdens.
Reforms and Innovations
She has piloted partnerships with nonprofits like Volunteers of America to provide wraparound services for youth, and she advocates expanding such public-private collaborations to fill resource gaps.
Lynden P. Smithson (Position 2 – Challenger)
Opening Statement
Lynden P. Smithson, a longtime Spokane attorney and former city attorney, is running for Position 2. His career includes defense, civil rights, and nearly two decades as a prosecutor, where he created the domestic violence unit. Smithson wants to restore confidence in Community Court and address downtown public safety.
Addressing Implicit Bias
Smithson calls for data-driven accountability. Judges must review incarceration and probation statistics regularly to identify disproportionate impacts and implement bias training when needed.
Challenges Facing Municipal Court
He highlights shrinking budgets and predicts difficult decisions ahead. Smithson calls for partnerships with nonprofits to maintain services as city funding decreases.
Community Engagement and Equal Access
Smithson serves on the Spokane Regional Domestic Violence Coalition board, hearing directly from victims. He also supports flexible court scheduling, including evening dockets, to accommodate work and childcare obligations.
Rehabilitation vs. Punishment
He contrasts superior court’s punitive model with municipal court’s rehabilitative purpose. Smithson, a former mental health prosecutor, cites reduced recidivism in therapeutic courts and emphasizes compassion, structure, and accountability.
Legal Financial Obligations (LFOs)
Smithson stresses that Spokane’s municipal court has avoided creating a “debtor’s prison,” often waiving fees and restoring licenses even before fines are fully paid. He praises the court’s proactive role in statewide reform.
Reforms and Innovations
Smithson proposes adding navigators to Community Court to guide defendants through treatment and services, modeled after supports in mental health court. He emphasizes the need for creativity, since city budgets cannot fully fund these roles.
The NAACP will host a town hall featuring candidates for City Council seats at 6 p.m. Oct. 15 at the downtown Central Library.