A state commission is giving a Benton County District Court judge another chance, but some attorneys are not happy about it.
The Washington state Commission on Judicial Conduct is recommending Judge Terry Tanner be censured and suspended from his position for 30 days without pay after being arrested a second time in five years for drunk driving.
The state Supreme Court will make the final ruling on the censure, according to a decision announced at a Friday meeting.
In addition, Tanner won't be allowed to be consume alcohol until he leaves office, must submit to random drug screenings and won't be allowed to handle any DUI cases.
The announcement comes nine months after Tanner was arrested in Richland with a blood-alcohol level at nearly three times the legal limit.
It was second time Tanner was caught drinking and driving since becoming a judge in 2009, according to the decision. The agreement noted this was the most serious crime he might preside over as a District Court judge.
In addition, he lied to police about driving the car, an action that erodes the trust of the public in judges, the decision said.
But judicial commission members said they realized even the most entrenched addict can make the changes necessary to alter their behavior.
The decision noted that most of Tanner's service as a judge has been commendable. He has been candid with the commission and is making a sincere effort to avoid alcohol, the commission said.
"Thank you for your decision," Tanner told the commission during the meeting. "It's been eight months that I've been sober. It has changed my life. I'm a different person and a much better person, and I can only hope that I can carry that forward."
But for some attorneys the decision is too little punishment, and they do not want him presiding over their cases, according to a source speaking to the Herald under the condition of anonymity.
Attorneys on either side of a case can file a document called an affidavit of prejudice to keep a judge from hearing a particular case.
Last fall, Franklin County attorneys filed similar affidavits to remove to prevent Superior Court Judge Sam Swanberg from making any rulings in their child support and paternity cases after he was acquitted of a domestic violence charge.
Tanner is already under a five-year deferred prosecution in connection with the Jan. 2 crash on Kingsgate Way, according to Benton County District Court documents.
Tanner was behind the wheel of a 2014 Cadillac sedan when he became high-centered on a concrete block near a gas station just past the intersection with Highway 240, said court documents.
When officers arrived, they found Tanner, who appeared intoxicated.
A witness said Tanner was in the driver's seat while the car was stuck. He had been hitting the gas and spinning the wheels. The witness helped Tanner out of the car and moved him to a place where he could sit down.
Tanner initially denied he was driving and tried to claim that the car didn't belong to him.
Officers soon learned the truth, that the car was registered to him.
Police took him to the Benton County jail and gave him four breathalyzer tests. Each one registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.22% or more — nearly early three times the legal limit of 0.08%.
His case was transferred over to Yakima County District Court, where Tanner agreed to accept a deferred prosecution agreement to resolve the DUI charge.
The 5-year agreement requires Tanner to receive alcoholism treatment, have an ignition interlock installed in order to drive and to submit to tests for alcohol use.
If he completes the program and avoids any other trouble, he is eligible to have the DUI removed from his record.
If he violates the terms of the agreement, a judge can determine his guilt based on the police reports and he could be sentenced to 30 to 364 days in jail.
Under Washington state law, It will be his only chance at deferring prosecution. It also required a diagnosis of alcoholism, substance addiction or mental health issues.
2018 crash
The last time Tanner was in front of the Commission on Judicial Conduct was after being arrested for a DUI in 2018 when he drove into a mailbox.
A witness found a smashed sedan about 11 p.m. on March 6, 2018, and saw a man sleeping in the driver's seat. The witness called 911 and later told a Benton County deputy that he believed the man was drunk.
The deputy discovered Tanner "crouched and hiding behind a mailbox," and he initially lied to the deputy. He pleaded guilty to DUI about a month after his arrest.
A censure is the most serious of the three levels of discipline that the commission can recommend. It can include suspension or removal for office.
He was previously reprimanded for his 2018 conviction, and ordered not to get in any more trouble. His DUI conviction at the time also carried requirements for him to stay out of trouble for a period of five years.
The commission noted on Friday that Tanner's two DUI convictions involved him lying to the police, eroding the trust in the judiciary.
"Unlike some other criminal offenses, DUI is a crime frequently committed by people in all walks of life," the decision said. "Dedicated, competent, hard-working and well-liked people who drive under the influence of alcohol are equally as dangerous as anyone else who drives under the influence."
But the commission stopped short of recommending he be removed from his position. They noted he had been a "dedicated, competent, hard-working judge" who was well-liked outside of these two incidents.
They pointed to therapeutic courts across the state, which have been successful in treating even people with long-term problems.
"Since his latest arrest and full embrace of the reality of his alcoholism, respondent (Tanner) has manifested in word and deed his complete acceptance of his responsibility to change and has manifested without excuses entirely positive responses to treatment," said the recommendation.
