Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy this afternoon issued a carefully worded

Pat McCarthy

statement on yesterday's County Council decision to eliminate the Superior Court seat of Judge Michael Hecht.

The council voted unanimously to eliminate Hecht's seat a day after he resigned and a week after he was found guilty of felony harassment and paying a man for sex. The council also set aside the remaining $19,000 Hecht would have earned this year to pay pro-tem judges  to hear cases. It hasn't decided whether to include Hecht's seat in next year's budget, but council members say it probably won't be included initially.

McCarthy - who learned of the council's decision after the fact - said the move "might prove to be an innovative way to keep cases flowing through the system." But she said she finds the council's action "to be a curious use of the emergency ordinance process since there was adequate time to engage the community about an important issue affecting the people's access to courts."

Here's the complete statement:

"The County Council and I agree on the need to find budget savings while also reducing the backlog of cases clogging our Superior Court. The Council's action might prove to be an innovative way to keep cases flowing through the system. My office is researching the issue to see if the temporary elimination of Department Nine can have the dual benefit of saving the County money while making progress toward reducing the backlog.

"I did find the Council's action to be a curious use of the emergency ordinance process since there was adequate time to engage the community about an important issue affecting the people's access to courts."

Categories: Pierce County
Tags: Judge Hecht, Pat McCarthy, Pierce County budget