Ritzville District Court Candidates: Incumbent Adalia A. Hille

Adalia Hille

Age: 65

Education: BA from Eastern Washington University, Juris Doctor from Gonzaga University in 2000, passed the Washington State Bar Exam in 2001.

Profession: Ritzville District Court Judge, elected pro-tem Superior Court Judge

Spouse: Kenneth

Children: Angie Swannack, Matthew Hille, Allison Nichols, Travis Hille.

With 23 years of experience, Ritzville District Court Judge Incumbent Adalia Hille is seeking reelection on the General Election ballot. This is the first opposed race Hille has faced in her career, with her opponent being Carolyn Benzel.

Hille is seeking reelection because of her passion for work and interest in the justice system. Hille describes her career choice as finding her, and she has spent a significant portion of her life serving within the justice system.

“I believe in the system, I believe in equal access to everyone,” Hille said about her motivation to continue as judge. “Everyone deserves the same justice.”

Beginning her career as a paralegal assistant in Spokane, Hille moved to Ritzville in 1984 and began working as the Superior Court Administrator. With her experience as a paralegal, former commissioner Dean Judd recommended Hille consider stepping in to fill the vacancy of the part-time judge position and she filled the unexpired two-year term as a non-attorney judge.

As a judge, Hille considers her primary strength as being a good listener and remaining attentive to the courtroom proceedings. Her responsibilities require her to remain focused on the case and know the laws that apply, while making an impartial, unbiased decision, Hille explained.

Within the courtroom, Hille said judges are not allowed to express sympathy in the decision-making process, but she sees her weakness as being empathic to the person being tried in her court. Hille explained empathy allows her to treat people with dignity, courtesy, respect and kindness, while still upholding the law and making a just decision.

Currently, Hille views the largest inefficiencies in the District Court to be attributed to the unpreparedness of lawyers and the lack of communication between prosecutors, public defenders and the defendant. This inefficiency leads to too many continuances, Hille said. Another issue is the high turnover rate of prosecutors and public defenders, as it makes it difficult to have a steady means of communication.

With an increasing rate of juvenile crimes, Hille attributes the increase to the break down in the family structure, as well as a lack of information and outreach for youth. Hille said marijuana use has steadily increased, as juveniles believe it is less egregious than drinking. She said the best way to reduce juvenile offenders is to provide educational outreach through the schools to teach youth the consequences for their actions.

In the area of private practice and trying a variety of cases, Hille said she did not try cases in a private practice, but she practices law every day in court. Hille said because of her time on the bench, she has more experience with misdemeanors, felonies and more because of the diversity of the court system.

“That’s the advantage of being in the community and being in district and superior court,” Hille said about the diversity of cases. “The ordinary attorney does not have the exposure to criminal law that I do.”

Hille explained she believes there is currently a lack of affordable, or pro-bono, services offered by attorneys, which creates unbalanced representation for clients who do not have the financial means to afford an attorney. Hille said her solution to the issue would be to require lawyers to provide free legal service on a regular basis in order for those in need to receive quality representation.

During her career, Hille said the main and most consistent ethical dilemma she faces is ex-party contact or the request for free legal advice. As a part-time judge, Hille explained she is able to have a private practice, but she chooses not too to remain impartial in the courtroom. In a small town, Hille said she is faced with the matter almost every day, but remains vigilant to not discuss cases or give free advice.

Hille said the greatest achievement in her legal career is being elected pro-tem superior court judge for 14 years.

On a personal level, attending college to obtain a law degree has been her largest achievement. Hille said she made the decision to return to school because of serving as a non-attorney judge.

While Hille did not practice law, she stated she believes running a practice would be overwhelming and unpredictable. Serving as an attorney would allow flexibility of schedule though, Hille said, while the court remains under strict time constraints that must be adhered too. One of the greatest benefits of sitting on the bench is the predictability of the job, Hille added, and knowing the rules to apply to the courtroom.

As an administrator, Hille said she has managed a successful budget for the past 23 years by being able to accurately predict revenues and expenditures. Hille said her supervisory success is measured by the fact two clerks have worked with Hille in her office for over 20 years.

Hille’s future vision for the district court includes completing a user-friendly webpage, which would help reduce costs to the county.

She is determined to work to rebuild the public trust in the justice system and believes the webpage would provide consistent accessibility for the public to the courts.

“The majority of people find no confidence in system,” Hille said. “That’s why I want to keep being a judge, I’ve worked really hard. I want people to believe when they leave that they’ve been heard and been treated fairly, even if they don’t agree with the outcome.”

During her reelection campaign, Hille said she is focused on the attributes she believes are necessary to run an efficient courtroom.

She believes honesty, integrity, knowledge of the law, unbiased decision making skills and having the ability to make timely decisions are all traits she possess and characteristics needed for an effective justice system.