John Scannell
John Scannell ran for election for the Position 2 judge of the Washington Supreme Court. He was disqualified from the general election scheduled on November 6, 2018.
Scannell was disqualified after a judge ruled that he did not meet the candidate qualifications because he was disbarred and unable to practice law in Washington.[1]
Scannell was previously a 2016 and 2014 candidate for the same court.[2][3]
Education
Scannell received a B.S. in physics, with a minor in mathematics, from the University of Washington in 1972. He completed the Washington Law Clerk program in November 1999, which qualified him to take the state bar examination.[4][5]
Career
- 2001-2010: Attorney in private practice
- 1999-2001: Intern, Rule 9
- 1994-1999: Intern, Rule 6
- 1989-1992: Paralegal
- 1989-1992: Seattle Civil Service Commission[4]
Awards and associations
Awards
- Phi Eta Sigma Honors
Associations
- Intermittent Workers Federation[4]
Elections
2018
See also: Washington Supreme Court elections, 2018
General election
General election for Washington State Supreme Court Position 2
Incumbent Susan Owens won election in the general election for Washington State Supreme Court Position 2 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Susan Owens (Nonpartisan) | 100.0 | 2,062,701 |
| Total votes: 2,062,701 | |||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- John Scannell (Nonpartisan)
Nonpartisan primary election
The primary election was canceled. Incumbent Susan Owens advanced from the primary for Washington State Supreme Court Position 2.
2016
Scannell filed to challenge Chief Justice Barbara Madsen in the 2016 state supreme court election.[2] Because he has been disbarred, he cannot serve on the state supreme court under the state constitution, which requires that justices be admitted to practice law in the state.[6] However, he was able to remain on the ballot because no legal challenge was brought against his candidacy.[6] Scannell, Greg Zempel, and Justice Madsen faced each other in a primary on August 2. Madsen and Zempel defeated Scannell and advanced to the November 8 general election.
Election results
August 2 primary
| Washington Supreme Court Primary, Position 5, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Barbara Madsen Incumbent |
63.90% | 759,475 |
| Greg Zempel |
29.71% | 353,149 |
| John Scannell | 6.38% | 75,849 |
| Total Votes (2000 of 2000 reporting: 100%) | 1,188,473 | |
| Source: Washington Secretary of State Official Results | ||
Race background
The 2016 election was the first since the 1990s in which all three state supreme court justices up for re-election faced opponents.[7] At least one justice in every election typically runs unopposed, but this year all three incumbents drew challengers. Republican state Representative Matt Manweller said he and other lawmakers actively recruited candidates to run against the justices.[7] This was partly because of the court's decisions in the long-running school funding case McCleary v. Washington, over which the court drew criticism from both Republicans and Democrats for holding the state in contempt of court, and in a separate case about the state funding of charter schools.
Those in favor of replacing the justices said the court has overstepped its boundaries into legislation and policymaking and failed to respect the autonomy of the state legislature.[7] In the McCleary school funding case, the court both found the state government in contempt and fined the state $100,000 per day until the state complied with the court's orders.[8][9]
In a separate case, the court ruled unconstitutional the state funding of charter schools right before those schools were set to open in 2015.
Satellite spending
The political action committee arm of the group Stand for Children spent $116,000 promoting the campaign of Greg Zempel, who challenged Chief Justice Barbara Madsen for her seat on the court.[10] Madsen authored the court's 2015 decision declaring Washington's charter schools, in their form at that time, unconstitutional. The legislature passed a new bill in 2016 that allowed charter schools to continue; opponents threatened to sue over this law as well.[10] Stand for Children's spending on Zempel's campaign was funded by several of the backers of charter schools who were opposed to the court's 2015 decision. The primary donors include Connie Ballmer, wife of former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer; Reed Hastings, founder and CEO of Netflix; and Vulcan Inc., owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Vulcan and Ballmer were also among the primary backers of the ballot initiative that paved the way for the charter schools.[10]
2014
See also: Washington judicial elections, 2014
Scannell ran for election to the Washington Supreme Court.
General: He was defeated in the general election on November 4, 2014, after receiving 21.9 percent of the vote. He competed against Debra L. Stephens.
[3]
Noteworthy events
Disbarred Scannell fights to practice law by running for election
In 2005, Scannell was investigated by the Washington State Bar Association regarding a case he had in Virginia. Scannell argued that this was outside the bar's jurisdiction. Scannell, however, was subsequently disbarred in the State of Washington, not for any misconduct involving the Virginia case (which was dismissed), but because he had obstructed the bar association's investigation of that case.[11] He continued fighting his disbarment in other ways.[6]
One attempt involved running for the office of justice of the Washington Supreme Court. Scannell was on the ballot, but only symbolically since the Washington State Constitution required a candidate for judicial office to be an attorney and admitted to practice in the state's courts.[12] To remove Scannell from the ballot, someone would have had to bring a legal challenge. However, Debra L. Stephens, his challenger for the seat, said she had no plans to do so.[6]
Scannell had filed suit against the bar association in federal court, reportedly in hopes of being able to at least practice in federal courts. He was successful with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which only gave him a two-year suspension, and Scannell was back to practicing before the court in 2012.[6]
Scannell received the nickname "Zamboni" for the many years he drove the Zamboni at Seattle hockey games. He was also known as the man who bit the head off the fish that was thrown onto the ice by a fan.[6]
See also
- Washington Supreme Court elections, 2018
- Washington judicial elections, 2014
- Washington judicial elections
- Washington Supreme Court
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Washington Supreme Court
- Washington Secretary of State, “Elections,” accessed May 22, 2014
Footnotes
- ↑ The Seattle Times, "Disbarred attorneys not qualified to run for state Supreme Court, booted off the ballot," June 6, 2018
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Washington Secretary of State, "2016 Candidates Who Have Filed," accessed May 23, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Washington Secretary of State, “2014 Candidates Who Have Filed,” accessed May 22, 2014
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Information submitted on Judgepedia's biographical submission form on 8/12/2014
- ↑ Information sent via email from John Scannell on 8/19/14
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 The News Tribune, "Will disbarred lawyer 'Zamboni John' Scannell make it to the ballot?" June 2, 2014
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 The News Tribune, "Controversial school-funding rulings prompt crowded Supreme Court races," June 3, 2016
- ↑ The Seattle Times, "Contempt ruling ups ante in fight to fund public schools," September 12, 2014
- ↑ The Seattle Times, "School funding back on table as court fines state $100,000 a day," August 13, 2015
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 The News Tribune, "Charter-school backers spending $116,000 to try to unseat state Supreme Court justice," July 28, 2016
- ↑ The Seattle Times, "State Supreme Court disbars Seattle attorney," September 9, 2010
- ↑ The Olympian, "Elect Stephens, Johnson for Supreme Court," October 2, 2014
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
