State judicial panel admonishes Clark County Superior Court Judge John Fairgrieve

The Washington Commission on Judicial Conduct announced Friday it has admonished Clark County Superior Court Judge John Fairgrieve for failing to issue a decision in a 2021 civil case by the required 90-day deadline.

According to the order for admonishment, Fairgrieve, who has been a Superior Court judge since 2015, presided over a land use petition case filed in June 2021. The case involved an appeal for fee waivers for commercial development projects. After hearing arguments in the case in January 2022, Fairgrieve did not issue a ruling, denying the appeal, until a year later, the order states.

Fairgrieve was unavailable for comment Friday.

The commission said it received a complaint shortly before Fairgrieve filed his decision. After the commission investigated the complaint, it served Fairgrieve with a statement of allegations May 1, according to the order.

Fairgrieve responded to the allegations May 18, and he admitted to failing to issue a ruling within 90 days of arguments. He also expressed regret and pointed to factors that added to the delay, including a backlog of cases and interruptions in court operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the order states.

“Although this disciplinary matter involves a single instance of delay, the delay was excessive, particularly since the statutory objective of land use petition cases is to provide expedited judicial review of local land use decisions,” the order states.

The commission issued an admonishment to Fairgrieve, which is the least severe level of judicial discipline, the order states. Fairgrieve stipulated to the admonishment and agreed not to repeat the violation of judicial code. He also agreed to review the code he violated.

The order states Fairgrieve has no history of discipline and cooperated with the commission.

“The commission is mindful of the difficulty and stresses caused by the pandemic and other court interruptions and notes that (Fairgrieve) has a reputation as a very careful and thoughtful jurist,” the order states.