Government
Allen appointed as Gig Harbor Municipal Court judge
Sandy Allen was appointed as Gig Harbor municipal court judge by Gig Harbor Mayor Kit Kuhn and unanimously confirmed by the City Council during its meeting Monday night. She replaces Zenon Olbertz, who is wrapping up a four-year term. Allen will begin work on Jan. 1.
Mayor Kit Kuhn administers the oath of office to Municipal Court Judge Sandy Allen. Charlee Glock-Jackson / Gig Harbor Now
The court has jurisdiction over criminal misdemeanors and gross misdemeanors, infractions and parking violations that occur within the city limits.
“We are thrilled to welcome Judge Allen to Gig Harbor’s Municipal Court,” Kuhn said in a press release. “Her experience and discernment will serve Gig Harbor very well.”
Allen will participate in a swearing-in ceremony for all of the state’s municipal court judges on Dec. 6, by Chief Justice of the Washington Supreme Court Steven González.
The City Council on Nov. 8 raised the pay for municipal court judge by more than $12,000 a year, from $53,822 to $66,000, for general administrative time, jury and nonjury trials and hearings, occasional in-custody arraignments, regular Tuesday and Wednesday court calendars and related activities.
“I am very honored to be appointed the Gig Harbor Municipal Court bench,” Allen said in the release. “Being a judge is one of the most challenging jobs, but also one of the most rewarding. I can assure the citizens of Gig Harbor that my courtroom will be a place where the laws will be followed and all issues will be fairly and equitably resolved, and that I will treat everyone that appears before me with dignity and respect.”
Allen attended Central Washington University and the University of Washington Law School. After becoming an attorney in 1988, she was a prosecuting attorney for several small municipalities and worked as a criminal defense attorney. She has served as a pro tem (temporary) judge for more than 22 years for several jurisdictions, including currently in Pierce and Kitsap county district courts, and the Tacoma, Puyallup and Fife municipal courts. She serves as the Milton Municipal Court judge, which she’ll continue to do during her term in Gig Harbor.
Allen was a dean at the Washington State Judicial College where she taught Infractions and Judicial Independence to new judges, and served on the District and Municipal Court Judges Association (DMCJA) Board of Governors.