Commission on Judicial Conduct

What We Do - Overview

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The Commission investigates and acts on complaints of judicial misconduct or disability. All fifty states and the District of Columbia have judicial conduct agencies . Washington's judicial conduct commission was constitutionally created when voters passed the amendment to Article IV, Section 31 of the Washington State Constitution in November 1980. For more information, see the governing provisions section of this website.

The overall goals of the Washington State Commission on Judicial Conduct are to:

• Maintain confidence and integrity in the judicial system.
• Provide the public with a fair and reasonable process to address judicial misconduct or disability.
• Preserve judicial independence.
• Provide public accountability.
• Protect the rights of the public while safeguarding the reputations of judges from unfounded accusations.

It is a complex mission to hold judges accountable for misconduct without compromising the essential independence of the judiciary. The Commission's process is separate from the judicial appeals system that allows individual litigants to appeal from legal errors. Please see the following sections to learn more about the Commission.

Jurisdiction

Who the Commission has jurisdiciton over and what the Commission can investigate.

Complaint Process

How the Commission investigates and processes complaints.

Confidentiality

The importance of confidentiality in Commission investigations.

Membership

Current membership of the Commission.

Meetings

The Commission's meeting schedule.