Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - January 7, 1999
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Locke names Lukens and Kessler to King County Superior Court

SEATTLE — Gov. Gary Locke today named Terry Lukens and Seattle Municipal Court Judge Ron Kessler to the King County Superior Court bench.

"These two individuals represent the finest caliber of professionals in the legal community," Locke said. "They will add a great deal of depth and experience to the bench in King County."

The two judges fill vacancies created by changes in the King County Superior Court system. Judge Faith Ireland was elected in November to the Washington State Supreme Court, and President Clinton appointed Judge Robert S. Lasnik to serve on the U.S. District Court.

Lukens, 55, was a captain in the U.S. Air Force before attending law school. He graduated from Brown University, the Columbia School of Business and the Rutgers University Law School. He has a general commercial practice, emphasizing real estate transactions.

Lukens is a former councilman and mayor of Bellevue and served on that city's planning commission. He also was a member of the council of the Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle for four years, and was appointed as a founding member of the executive board of the Puget Sound Regional Council. He serves on the citizens' oversight panel for Sound Transit.

Lukens, along with his wife Ann, earned the 1996 Regional Leadership Award from the Municipal League of King County. He also was a board member of the March of Dimes, served as a girls' soccer coach, and was a board member and president of a community swim club.

Kessler, 51, attended Union College and Washington and Lee University, earning his law degree from Villanova Law School. He began his career as a VISTA lawyer for Seattle Legal Services, representing indigent people. He then opened his own firm, specializing in general civil and criminal practice.

Kessler served in the King County public defender's office for 10 years, handling a wide variety of criminal matters. He then became a Seattle Municipal Court judge and worked in that capacity for 14 years, serving as presiding judge and chair of the court's executive committee. He was active in reforming the rules and practices of the Seattle Municipal Court.

Kessler is widely recognized for his work as a lecturer at the Washington State Judicial College and for the Criminal Caselaw Notebook that he publishes and updates annually. He has served on numerous boards and committees, including the Board of Governors of the District and Municipal Court Judges Association and the Washington State Bar Association Court Rules and Procedures Committee. He also served as president and board member of the Community House Socialization Center, a county mental health program.

Both judges will begin their terms as soon as possible and will stand for election this November. Each post carries an annual salary of $100,995.

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