Lynden Smithson
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Lynden Smithson ran for election to the Spokane Municipal Court to represent Position 2 in Washington. He was on the ballot in the general election on November 4, 2025. The primary for this office on August 5, 2025, was canceled.
Smithson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Lynden Smithson was born in San Diego, California. He graduated from the Bellarmine College Preparatory. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Washington in 1995 and a law degree from the Gonzaga School of Law in 1998. His career experience includes working as a lawyer and coaching youth soccer. He has been affiliated with the Spokane Regional Domestic Violence Coalition.[1]
Elections
2025
See also: City elections in Spokane, Washington (2025)
General election
Nonpartisan primary election
The primary election was canceled. Incumbent Mary Logan and Lynden Smithson advanced from the primary for Spokane Municipal Court Position 2.
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Smithson in this election.
2025
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Lynden Smithson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Smithson's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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For the past twenty-three years I have worked for the City of Spokane. I have held positions as head of our Domestic Violence Unit, I was Chief Assistant City Prosecutor. And most recently I was Spokane’s City Attorney; supervising, twenty-three lawyers in the Prosecutor’s Office and City Legal. My office advised over thirty City departments, the Mayor and City Council. I was charged with developing policy in many areas including criminal justice and homelessness response. I worked closely with the Mayor, Council and SPD to further sound policies to enhance the experience in the downtown core.
The City of Spokane operates Community Court through the Spokane Municipal Court. The objective is to positively affect those who are charged with minor criminal offenses in the downtown core. Community Court is designed to provide compassionate accountability and get defendants out of the cycle of crime. Community Court is failing, it is not holding defendants accountable and therefore they swirl in a continuing cycle of crime, drug use and homelessness. Community Court has not been accountable to the very community it is designed to influence. It is time for new leadership and accountability. I will operate Community Court in a transparent manner and will publish the numbers of defendants engaged in the Court along with the effectiveness of the program. If recidivism rates are unacceptable, we will reassess our procedures and correct them to be more effective.
- -Running to Restore Public Confidence in Community Court
The evidence shows that many of the participants in Community Court are accruing large numbers of charges and are not encouraged or compelled to complete treatment. This is leading to numerous deaths and a large population of participants mired in addiction and continuing to commit crimes. The public has lost faith in Community Court. For that reason I am endorsed by Spokane Police Guild along with multiple business owners along with the Association of Builders and Contractors, Inland Pacific Chapter.
- -Improve Public Safety through Compassionate Accountability
In my extensive legal career, I have represented clients charged criminally. I have experience in civil matters, representing plaintiffs in employment matters, defendants in insurance matters and most recently I have represented the City of Spokane in all matters where the City is a party.
I was also the City's representative in our Mental Health Court for three years. I was able to see Compassionate Accountability in action where defendants with profound mental health issues were able to pursue sobriety, treatment and improve their lives. This is not happening in Community Court. New ideas need to be implemented.
- -Proven Dedication
-Trusted Experience
In 2011 I was asked to establish a Domestic Violence Unit in the Prosecutor’s Office. I worked with the Spokane Police Department to establish policies and procedures to hold offenders responsible and to give victims the support they needed. We reduced recidivism and gave victims a voice in the legal proceedings. I continue to be involved in the Spokane Domestic Violence Consortium where I hold a board seat.
I am also proud to let voters know that I have dedicated my time during the past twenty years to the youth of Spokane by coaching soccer donating over 200 hours a year. I view myself as a mentor to these youth and endeavor to teach them life lessons through the sport of soccer.
-Public Safety
I am seeking the position because I have the requisite knowledge, experience and vision to improve public safety.
To be a good judge, one needs to be humble and recognize the humanity in every person who appears before you. Too often Judges act as though they believe they were anointed the position and act with indifference to the accused. I will endeavor to have a positive impact on every person who appears in my court. -Humility- as stated prior, a judge should recognize the humanity in every person and strive to celebrate it.
-Fairness- it is important that the accused are able to advocate their position whether through counsel or pro se. Where a person is given the opportunity to be heard, they overwhelmingly find the proceedings fair.
-Empathy- to recognize a person's worth is to value their ability to be restored. Empowering a defendant to achieve sobriety and/or exit the criminal justice system should be the end goal. Municipal Courts in Washington are designed as rehabilitative courts so the imperative is to get the person back to a spot where they are no longer committing crimes. Jail is one option but should be a last resort. Spokane's Municipal Court has numerous non-jail penalties along with robust probation services and ample treatment options in Spokane. Between the judges orders and probation monitoring defendants can be, and should be, rehabilitated so escape the issues that are affecting them. Rehabilitation with compassionate accountability is the first priority of Spokane's Municipal Court Judges.
A second important responsibility is to protect every persons Constitutional rights along with balancing justice for victims.
I want to be known as a thorough, intelligent and compassionate jurist.
I remember the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion. I was in 8th grade and our teacher turned the news on after the event. We watched the news broadcast for the rest of the day.
At 15 I was employed by a turf farm, I watered the grass in 4-5 fields continually for 8 hours a day. I worked there for the entire summer.
Spokane Municipal Court is almost exclusively criminal. The only civil matters are civil traffic infractions and impound hearings to appeal the towing of a vehicle by Spokane Police Department. As stated above, the primary responsibility of the judges is to rehabilitate criminal defendants to reduce recidivism.
I would seek to blend problem-solving justice, community oriented justice and procedural fairness. I would do this through compassionate accountability and judicial restraint and efficiency.
As a career litigator I have always admired Karl Tegland. He is the author of several "Washington Practice" volumes, including the well-known Courtroom Handbook on Washington Evidence. His published works specialize in evidence law and practice, indicating deep expertise in the rules governing admissible evidence in court.
I do believe empathy and humility are important qualities for judges. I believe a judge should see a part of themself in every person who comes before them. Once a person is convicted or enters an agreement with the court a Municipal Court judge should seek to get to the root cause of why the person is before the court. This is how rehabilitation can take place. Spokane's probation department employs the Ohio Risk Assessment System to aid in this determination. I will follow the recommendations and seek to rehabilitate the defendant.
I was rated by the Spokane County Bar Association. I received a well qualified assessment.
I am campaigning for Spokane Municipal Court with the intention of restoring the public's confidence in Community Court and improving public safety through compassionate accountability. I want to give low level offenders the ability to escape continued addiction and criminal behavior through the resources currently provided in Municipal Court.
Yes, my experience as Spokane's City Attorney gives me special insight into how crime and the criminal justice system affects the City as a Municipality. I have seen the connection between reduced tax revenue due to people feeling unsafe in our downtown core. I am uniquely positioned to answer to the electorate while protecting the Constitutional Rights of the accused.
Our court is constantly aware of issues related to access to justice and all three judges will work towards improving access to justice. The judges must also be cognizant of racial and socioeconomic disparities. This will be addressed under my watch by yearly evaluations and amending our procedures if we show gross disparities in arrest and conviction data for minority groups.
Spokane's Municipal Court implemented eCourt several years ago which is a technological breakthrough. It will allow the court to analyze charging and conviction data to better serve the community.
No, of the 85 bar members that participated in the assessment relating to the 4 candidates in this race, some 43 stated they did not have enough information to rate the candidates. This lead to a very small sample size and allowed companions of my opponent to reduce my rating. My experience makes me more qualified than my opponent. I have tried cases in Spokane Municipal, District and Superior Courts. I have also tried cases in the United States Court for the Eastern District of Washington.
Spokane Police Guild
Associated Builders and Contractors, Inland Pacific Chapter
I was contacted by two young ladies. Both had been involved in the drug culture and had done significant jail time for convictions. They were able to be rehabilitated after leaving prison and have both started businesses. They are model citizens and operate their businesses in an effort to give back to the community. They believe whole-heart in my message of improving public safety through compassionate accountability.
I was the City Attorney for Washington's second largest City. It was incredibly difficult but incredibly rewarding.
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Other survey responses
Ballotpedia identified the following surveys, interviews, and questionnaires Smithson completed for other organizations. If you are aware of a link that should be added, email us.
See also
External links
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 3, 2025
