Sequim Gazette staff
Clallam County Superior Court Judge-Designate Christopher Melly will be sworn in at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 7, at the Clallam County Superior Court courtroom 1, at the Clallam County Courthouse in Port Angeles.
Patty Rosand, Clallam County Auditor, officiates at the ceremony.
The event is open to the public and a reception will immediately follow.
Melly was appointed to the Superior Court bench by Gov. Jay Inslee to replace retiring Judge Brooke Taylor.
Melly must run for election in November 2014 for the last two years of Taylor’s term.
Melly steps in
Practicing law in Washington since 1978, Melly has served as a deputy prosecuting attorney in King and Clallam counties; chief deputy prosecuting attorney in Clallam County; Clallam County District Court l commissioner and Clallam County hearing examiner.
Melly currently serves as vice president of the Serenity House Board of Directors. Melly has served on the North Olympic Library System Board of Trustees, the Port Angeles Soccer Club Board and the Cub Scout Pack Board (Franklin school). He also coached soccer and basketball and served as a Cub Scout den leader.
Following graduation from high school in 1969, Melly enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and trained as a rifleman and linguist (Vietnamese). Upon his return from a tour of duty in Vietnam, he was honorably discharged at the rank of corporal.
Melly then earned his bachelor’s degree in history/psychology from Wayne State University in Detroit, Mich., and his Juris Doctor degree from Rutgers University School of Law in Camden, N.J.
Taylor steps down
In June, Taylor, a Clallam County Superior Court judge, announced his intention to retire at the end of the year.
He was elected in November 2007 after the state Legislature approved Clallam County’s request for a third Superior Court judge.
In a press release dated June 11, Taylor said he ran for the position in 2007 to prove “the necessity and value of having a third judge.”
“I am satisfied,” Taylor added, “as I complete my sixth year of service, that this goal has been accomplished. We have made huge strides in resolving backlog issues and staying current on both civil and criminal litigation.”
George Wood (presiding) and Eric Rohrer are the county’s other Superior Court judges.
