Superior Court Judge Jones nominated for federal judgeship

The White House has nominated King County Superior Court Judge Richard Jones to fill a vacancy on the federal bench in the Western District of Washington.

The White House submitted Jones' name to the Senate on Monday, along with 10 other nominees for federal judgeships in other states around the country.

If confirmed by the Senate, Jones, 56, will fill the seat left vacant when U.S. District Judge John Coughenour took senior status in July.

Jones, the judge who in 2003 sentenced Green River killer Gary L. Ridgway to 48 consecutive life terms for the murders of 48 women, could not be reached for comment Monday.

Jones has been a King County Superior Court judge since 1994. He was named 2004 Judge of the Year by the King County Bar Association and the Washington State Bar Association.

Previously, Jones was an assistant U.S. Attorney in the Western District of Washington from 1988 to 1994 and an associate at Bogle & Gates from 1983 to 1987.

He received his law degree at the University of Washington and his undergraduate degree at Seattle University.

Jones was one of three finalists for the judgeship selected by a bipartisan merit-selection panel last summer. Michael Rickert, a Skagit County Superior Court judge, and Marc Boman, a partner at the law firm Perkins Coie, were the other two finalists.

The vacant judgeship recently has been part of the controversy over the firings of eight U.S. attorneys, including John McKay.

McKay, former U.S. attorney for Western Washington, told reporters earlier this month that during an interview for the federal judgeship on Aug. 22 with former White House Counsel Harriet Miers and deputy counsel William Kelley, McKay was asked to explain why Washington state Republicans believed he "mishandled" allegations of voter fraud during the 2004 governor's race.

McKay had personally asked for the meeting with Miers after he learned that he was not one of the three finalists the merit-selection panel recommended to the White House.

Three weeks after the meeting, in an e-mail to Miers, a senior Justice Department official identified McKay as a U.S. attorney "We Now Should Consider Pushing Out." McKay was fired in December.

David Bowermaster: 206-464-2724