Flyckt frustrated with state judicial system

RITZVILLE – Adams County Prosecuting Randy Flyckt isn’t satisfied with the current legislative environment and the state of Washington’s judicial system.

He recently sat down with The Journal to explain how the system works and his dissatisfaction.

“In this state, the highest constitutional court is the Supreme Court that sits in Olympia,” he said.

Since the late 1960s, the state’s statutory appellate court has been divided into three divisions. Division I covers King County and northwestern Washington. Division II covers southwestern Washington. Division III covers most jurisdictions east of the Cascades.

Superior Courts have general jurisdiction, according to Flyckt.

“Those courts can hear any kind of civil case and have criminal jurisdiction all the way from civil misdemeanors to Class A felonies,” he said.

In addition, every county is allocated a number of district court positions, and judges who serve in those courts are county officers.

By contrast, judges serving in the other courts — Superior Court, the Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court — are state officers.

“That’s why the governor’s office appoints people to fill those positions,” he said.

Concerns and frustrations

“Although state courts are officially ‘non-partisan,’ partisanship often plays a role — like it does at the federal level — when it’s time to appoint judges to those positions,” he said.

For example, President Joe Biden, a Democrat, would never appoint someone like Ted Cruz, a Republic senator, to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

“In the same way, (Gov.) Jay Inslee would never appoint someone like Randy Flyckt — a registered Republican — to serve on the state Superior Court,” he said. “Right now, most of the judges at the state level are appointees of Jay Inslee.”

Gov. Inslee is a Democrat who lives on wealthy Bainbridge Island.

Flyckt said it’s different at the district court level.

When Adalia Hille retired and Andrea Russell was appointed to fill that Adams County District Court position, county commissioners made the appointment.

According to Flyckt, the same kinds of patterns seen in Washington, D.C., replicate themselves at the state level.

He noted liberal Western Washington controls the state.

“The values they hold there are very divergent from the values we hold here,” he said. “Every year, the state Legislature passes laws that make it tougher to maintain law and order.”

And there are additional challenges.

“One of our biggest challenges is keeping this office staffed,” Flyckt said.

He cited a 2023 research study published by William and Mary Law School that highlighted “The Prosecutor Vacancy Crisis.”

That research paper stated, in part, “Many prosecutors’ offices across the United States are in a state of crisis. Prosecutors are quitting in droves and there are few applicants to replace them. In Houston and Los Angeles, more than 15% of prosecutor positions are open. In Detroit, the vacancy rate exceeds 20%. In Alameda, 25% of prosecutor positions are empty.

“And in Miami, a staggering 33% of prosecutor positions are unfilled. The vacancy problem is not just in large cities. In some smaller counties, more than half of the lawyers in the office have resigned.”

Staffing prosecuting attorney offices is a particularly acute problem in Washington, according to Flyckt.

“Twenty years ago, prosecution was seen as an honorable profession,” he said. “It was a way for new lawyers to gain trial experience and learn how to do litigation.

“Years ago when we had a vacancy in this office, I would receive a stack of resumes. Lately, we advertised one position for a year and got one applicant.”

He said a combination of factors — the governmental response to COVID, the “defund the police” movement and a massive inflationary trend — has led to a staffing shortage.

“What used to be seen as an honorable profession isn’t anymore,” he said. “On law school campuses, students who say they want pursue a career in prosecution often get a negative reaction from other students and faculty.

“They hear, ‘You don’t want to be one of those.’”

Flyckt also noted a growing divergence between prosecuting attorneys on this side of the state and “woke” ones in Western Washington, who take a “social justice-based” approach to prosecution.

For example, in Western Washington, charges are sometimes reduced based on a person’s ethnicity and/or race, he said. In some cases, lowering a charge from a felony to a misdemeanor is considered “reparation.”

“We had a tremendous divide in 2021 and early 2022 with the COVID mandates,” he said. “At that time, the state Legislature also passed laws and the Supreme Court imposed rules to enforce ‘sanctuary city’ and ‘sanctuary state’ mandates.”

According to Flyct, some local authorities refused to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.

“Some prosecutors advised local sheriffs to stop returning phone calls from ICE officers,” he said. “Others would prohibit ICE officers from gaining access to jails.”

Flyckt said he’s trying to maintain an island of peace in Adams County.

He wants to keep the “cesspool” over there, he said.

But he’s finding it difficult. In his view, “There’s a lot of insanity out there.”