Michael Finkle

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Michael Finkle

Nonpartisan

King County District Court Northeast Division

Tenure

2010 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

15

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 8, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

Loyola Marymount University, 1978

Graduate

Seattle University, 1995

Law

University of California, Los Angeles, 1981

Personal

Birthplace

Camden, N.J.

Religion

Jewish

Profession

Justice of the Peace

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Personal LinkedIn

Michael Finkle is a judge for Northeast Division of the King County District Court in Washington. He assumed office in 2010. His current term ends on January 11, 2027.

Finkle ran for re-election for the Northeast Division judge of the King County District Court in Washington. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Finkle completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Education

Finkle received a bachelor's degree in business administration from Loyola Marymount University in 1978, a J.D. from the University of California - Los Angeles in 1981, and an M.B.A. from Seattle University in 1995.

Career

• 2010-Present: Judge, King County Northeast Division District Court
• 1998-Present: Adjunct professor, Seattle University School of Law
• 1990-2010: Assistant city attorney, Seattle - Criminal Division
• 1986-1990: Deputy city attorney, Los Angeles
• 1981-1986: Attorney in private practice

Awards and associations

Awards

• 2010: Ernest H. Campbell Award, Washington State Association of Municipal Attorneys
• 2003: Outstanding Service Award, Washington State Association of Municipal Attorneys

Associations

• 1991-2000: Faculty, Washington State Bar Association’s Trial Advocacy Program
• 2000: President, Washington State Association of Municipal Attorneys

Elections

2022

See also: Municipal elections in King County, Washington (2022)

General election

General election for King County District Court Northeast Division

Incumbent Michael Finkle defeated Joshua Schaer in the general election for King County District Court Northeast Division on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michael Finkle (Nonpartisan)	66.9	130,274
		Joshua Schaer (Nonpartisan)	32.6	63,351
		Other/Write-in votes	0.5	963

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 194,588
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

The primary election was canceled. Incumbent Michael Finkle and Joshua Schaer advanced from the primary for King County District Court Northeast Division.

Endorsements

To view Finkle's endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.

2018

See also: Municipal elections in King County, Washington (2018)

Incumbent Michael Finkle won election in the general election for King County District Court Northeast Division on November 6, 2018.

General election

General election for King County District Court Northeast Division

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michael Finkle (Nonpartisan)	98.8	158,450
		Other/Write-in votes	1.2	1,862

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 160,312
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Selection method

See also: Nonpartisan election of judges

Judges of the district courts are chosen in nonpartisan elections. They serve four-year terms, after which they must run for re-election if they wish to continue serving.

Qualifications
To serve on a district court, a judge must be:

• a resident and registered voter of his or her district;
• one of the following: licensed to practice law in the state; a former district judge, municipal judge, police judge or justice of the peace; able to pass a qualifying exam (in districts of more than 5000 people); and
• under the age of 75.*

*No judge is eligible to run for office after attaining the age of 75. If a sitting judge turns 75 while serving, he or she may continue serving until the end of that calendar year.

2014

See also: Washington judicial elections, 2014
Finkle ran for re-election to the King County Northeast Division District Court.
General: He was unopposed in the general election on November 4, 2014. 

2010

See also: Washington judicial elections, 2010

Finkle ran for election to the King County Northeast Division District Court in 2010 and won. He was opposed by John L. O'Brien.

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Michael Finkle completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Finkle's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Judge Finkle is the incumbent and has served for 12 ½ years. He is rated Exceptionally Well Qualified” by six independent bar associations, their highest rating. He has bipartisan support from both the King County Democrats and the King County Republicans.

Judge Finkle has handled all District Court calendars, including Mental Health Court, Veterans Court, Youth Court, and Community Court, which makes him unique in King County District Court. Judge Finkle has trained hundreds of judges across the state on trials, mental health issues, and protection orders. He chairs the subcommittee that prepares the forensic mental health forms and serves on the subcommittee that prepares the protection order forms used in all courts in the state.

Judge Finkle developed his passion for and knowledge of mental health law during the 20 years he spent as a supervising prosecutor for the Seattle City Attorney’s Office before he became a judge.

Judge Finkle enjoys civic activities. He mentors through the Joint Minority Mentorship Program, serves on the Pathway Advisory Program with the Issaquah School District, and volunteers with the YMCA High School Mock Trial Program by working with three high schools, hosting a district tournament, and judging at the state tournament.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• There is more to being a judge than making decisions in Court. An excellent judge should improve the court system. I have a demonstrated history, as recently as June of 2022, of successfully doing just that.
• Improvements to the court system don't happen by chance. They require advance planning. I have plans in mind for changes over the next 1-4 years, including how to carry out those changes.
• Some of the biggest steps in providing access to justice for all involve very small gestures. Because of my experience as a judge, I am aware of those small gestures and I have been using them over the years.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am personally passionate about therapeutic justice. This includes Mental Health Court, Veterans Court, and Community Court. Each of those types of court caters to a different client base with different issues and often a different measure of success. Some people think of Youth Court as a therapeutic court, but it is a form of restorative justice.

One of the things that is particularly challenging about therapeutic justice is that it is such a radical departure from the traditional criminal justice model. And since prosecution, defense and court must all be on the same page, it can be difficult to line all three up all the time. On the other hand, there are things that we can learn from therapeutic courts that we can apply to traditional court. For example, small things like pronouncing people’s names right, engaging each defendant in meaningful and positive conversation at every hearing, talking about positives even if you are going to talk about something negative. Those things have a cumulative effect and provide a better backdrop for defendants to comply. That is a strong part of therapeutic courts, and it can be exciting to see them work outside of that setting.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

I can only speak to judges. I believe the answer is much different for other elected officials. The first characteristic a judge needs is the ability to understand the perspective of each person who appears before them. For example, people speak varying amounts of English or even if fluent have varying amounts of education. Without understanding that, it can be more difficult to communicate with the person because the concepts might not carry over. If someone has very little money or a lot of money, fines or other requirements that cost money will have different impacts. Compassion is also an important characteristic. Judges dispense justice, not punishment. Finally, courage is vital. Many times, the correct decision may not be the popular one. Without courage, a judge won’t be able to make the correct ruling.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I would like to leave the court system better than when I first entered it. The court system is no different than any other entity—it changes over time, for the good or for the bad. If I can steer the court on an upward path with enough momentum, my successors can accomplish even greater things. I plan to leave my legacy by mentoring my colleagues. That will enable them to avoid some of the missteps that I didn’t, and to learn more quickly. Hopefully I can infuse them with my passion as well.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

The City of Long Beach bough a British ocean liner called the Queen Mary. The placed the ship in dry dock and planned to turn it into a hotel. My Dan was an electrician, and he was in charge of converting the British electrical system to an American one. When I was 16 I spent the summer helping him out as an errand runner. I would take tools or wires or other supplies from one part of the ship to another so my Dad or other electricians could use them. In my spare time I got to tour below decks, where it looked like something out of a shipwreck movie.

Do you believe that empathy is an important quality for a judge?

Yes Empathy enables a judge to assess how their decision is likely to impact a person. The same action may impact two people in very different ways and if a judge is not aware of that, they may create unintended consequences.

Have you ever been rated by a Bar Association? If so, what was the rating?

I have been rated Exceptionally Well Qualified by the following 6 bar associations: Cardozo Society of Washington; Joint Asian Judicial Evaluation Committee; King County Bar Association; Latino(a) Bar Association of Washington, Q-Law, Washington Women Lawyers-King County Chapter. I have been rated Well Qualified by the Loren Miller Bar Association.

Do you believe that Bar Association ratings are an accurate reflection of a judge’s ability?

If you look at all 7 bar associations as a group they can provide an accurate picture when comparing two candidates. If there is a large difference, that can be an important factor to consider.

Tell us your favorite joke.

Question: What dinosaur needs to see a podiatrist? Answer: An Ankylosaurus.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Candidate

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Footnotes

Washington courts

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Federal courts:

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Washington, Western District of Washington • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Washington, Western District of Washington

State courts:

Washington Supreme Court • Washington Court of Appeals • Washington Superior Court • Washington District Courts • Washington Municipal Courts

State resources:

Courts in Washington • Washington judicial elections • Judicial selection in Washington