City Of Seattle - Municipal Court Judge Position No. 7 · King County

Judge Damon Shadid has dedicated his time at the Seattle Municipal Court trying to find better ways of approaching criminal justice. He has a deep understanding that the criminal legal system should have two primary and complementary objectives: keep the community safe and help people obtain the services they need to exit the criminal legal system. With these objectives in mind, Judge Shadid’s colleagues on the court have tapped him to work with the Seattle City Attorney and the Department of Public Defense to form a new “Connection Court” which is being built on the foundation of Judge Shadid’s work in the former Community Court. Connection Court gives participants the option of being quickly connected with services in the community to address the underlying causes of their crimes. Judge Shadid has also been instrumental in re-building the Seattle Mental Health Court, where he presided for 4 years. He was able to work with the City Attorney’s Office and the Department of Public Defense to improve the Mental Health Court and to encourage more individuals with mental health barriers get the vital services they need. Finally, Judge Shadid started the “Consolidated Calendar.” This court allows individuals who have case workers in the community to come to one calendar each week in order to help their clients receive services and exit from the criminal legal system. But the work is not done. Seattle faces profound challenges stemming from a lack of vital services like housing, substance abuse treatment and mental health treatment which cause public safety issues in our community. Judge Shadid believes that the Municipal Court should play a central role in improving access to these services, and will continue to work hard every day to ensure that all people are treated with fairness and compassion.