Washington State allows Judge with Criminal History to Sit on the Bench

IS A MEMBER OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY SERVING “WITH HONOR” IN PIERCE COUNTY?

by Sharon Rondeau

(Jan. 23, 2011) — Plaintiff and Merchant Seaman William Webster describes Pierce County, Washington Superior Court Judge Frank Cuthbertson as a “documented  convicted criminal, fugitive from justice in North Carolina, member of the  Communist Party…”

As Webster explains on his blog, the Greensboro (NC) Massacre involved people who joined the Communist Workers Party, originally named the Workers Viewpoint Organization (WVO). Some of the WVO’s members had been active in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and advocated the unionization of workers and equal rights for blacks.  Many of them worked in textile mills.

The WVO became active in opposing the Ku Klux Klan, which had incited violence in two southern cities in 1978.  The WVO even suggested eliminating the Klan by using violence of its own.  Some Southern Communists became increasingly militant, often using front groups to accomplish their goals.  An extensive list of communist groups in the Carolinas affiliated with Chinese, eastern European, or Soviet-style communism is here (see bottom of page).

Many WVO members had begun their activism as community organizers in Greensboro.  The group decided to hold a  protest against the Ku Klux Klan on November 3, 1979 at an area housing project.  Plans for the march and rally were made public, and the potential for a violent clash between the Klan and the members of the CWP was anticipated.

Ku Klux Klan and Nazi supporters planned an ambush at the site of the demonstration and opened fire on the organizers, killing five people and severely injuring another.

Webster asserts, and there is independent evidence to corroborate, that Pierce County, WA Superior Court Judge Frank Cuthbertson took part in the rally, was arrested and convicted, and failed to pay court costs.  Washington state Attorney Doug Schafer reported that Cuthbertson “failed to disclose” his 1980 arrest when he applied to the Washington State Bar Association and when the governor appointed him to sit on the bench of the Superior Court.  Shafer also stated that after initially supporting Cuthbertson, he confronted him regarding the  alleged North Carolina weapons charge and Cuthbertson claimed that “the allegation was absolutely false.”

A second news report quotes Cuthbertson as having admitted to his involvement in the November 11, 1979 incident and the weapons violation charge.  However, the News Tribune reportedly had endorsed Cuthbertson and stated in its article that it had “checked newspaper articles, a book written about the history of Greensboro and interviewed a reporter who has covered the story since the shootout.  None mentioned Cuthbertson.”

A lengthy list of those endorsing Cuthbertson’s election following his initial appointment to the bench includes the statement from then-Governor Gary Locke:

I want only the very best, brightest and hardest-working judges.  Judge Frank Cuthbertson has the integrity, fairness, hard work and intelligence that meets my standards of what a judge should bring to the courtroom.

The Revised Code of Washington 9.81.08 declares the Communist Party “a subversive organization within the purview of chapter 9.81 RCW and membership in the Communist party is a subversive activity thereunder.”  Related codes state that public employees are subject to immediate discharge if they are determined to be “subversive persons.”

Washington Code 9.81.080 further states that:

The inquiries prescribed in preceding sections, other than the written statement to be executed by an applicant for employment and the requirement set forth in RCW 9.81.070, relative to membership in the communist party or other subversive organization, shall not be required as a prerequisite to the employment of any persons in any case in which the employing authority may determine, and by rule or regulation specify the reasons why, the nature of the work to be performed is such that employment of such persons will not be dangerous to the health of the citizens or the security of the governments of the United States, the state of Washington, or any political subdivision thereof (emphasis added by The Post & Email).

Shafer apparently had his law license suspended for “too much illuminating information in 1996 about a very corrupt judge.”  Shafer took issue with the judicial panel’s determination that he had “revealed his client’s confidences and secrets” (page 3, top right column).  Someone claiming to know Shafer appears to confirm that and operates a website as a clearinghouse for corrupt judges worldwide.

One source states that Cuthbertson admits to having been involved with the demonstration against the Ku Klux Klan and that he was arrested and charged with a “weapons violation.”  Cuthbertson’s biography does not mention that he was arrested for taking part in the Greensboro, NC incident (about halfway down the page on the right margin).  The report reads:

A second group of CWP activists had traveled to Greensboro from Durham. Those from the Durham group arrested included Leonard Briggs, Thomas Clark, Frank Cuthbertson, Francis Davis, Charles Finch, Gershon Gell, Christopher Lewis and Gregory Plante.

Judicial corruption appears to be common in Pierce County, WA.  Attorney Shafer, mentioned above, has reported extensively on alleged corrupt judges throughout the state of Washington.

The website for the Washington state courts maintains that a trial juror’s job is to “decide the facts” and that it is up to the judge to “decide the law.” However, the history of juries and grand juries is that jurors are able to evaluate both the facts and the law and nullify a law if they find it unconstitutional, “morally repugnant or unpopular.”

A Washington State Supreme Court justice had advocated that juries be informed that they could judge both the facts and the law.

Jurors in Washington are required to be U.S. citizens, at least 18 years old, and cannot have been convicted of a felony.

According to one source, the grand jury “is a Constitutional fixture in its own right.”  However, The Post & Email has reported that the state of Washington no longer convenes grand juries to examine evidence of criminal behavior, including that of government officials.

Cuthbertson was honored in June 2009 by the Washington State Mentors’ Pierce County Mentoring Partnership (PCMP).  According to Mr. Webster, Cuthbertson is running for re-election in 2012.