Judge Robinson targets bar exam after 18 years as district court judge

Judge Doug Robinson said last week one of his goals for retirement will be to re-take the state bar examination so he can serve as judge pro-tem when needed around the area. He needs to pass the examination to renew his license as an attorney, one of the requirements to be appointed as a judge pro-tem.

Robinson said last week, he doesn't plan to start a law practice once he gets the license.

He also plans to serve as Colfax Municipal Court judge.

After serving as Whitman County District Court judge for the past 18 years, Robinson will officially retire on the second Monday in January when newly-elected Judge John Hart begins his term in office.

Robinson, 67, was appointed district court judge in 2000 when his predecessor, Judge David Frazier, was elected to the superior court bench.

Robinson was raised in Los Altos, Calif. He was living in Seattle when he joined the Air Force Reserve in 1971. He transferred to the Washington Air National Guard in 1975 and graduated law school from Gonzaga in 1978.

After graduating, he took the bar exam in July of that year. He also became a commissioned officer, on active duty in the Air Force for five years.

He returned to the reserves, and moved to Pullman in 1983, where he met his wife, Donna, in 1988. In the reserves, he was promoted from captain to major.

After five years in the reserves, he went back into the Air National Guard where he was promoted in 1989 to lieutenant colonel. In 1997, Robinson was promoted once more to colonel and became the staff judge advocate to the commander at Camp Murray. After another 11 years, he retired from military duty.

In 1984, Robinson began his judicial career when he became Colton's municipal judge. He also became the judge for Uniontown, and when Palouse opened a municipal court, he became the judge there the same year.

In 1985, Robinson became the Garfield municipal court judge. Both Garfield and Palouse later closed their courts.

Robinson served as the first judge for Colfax's first municipal court in 1998. The court was started after the then city administrator, Lewis Griffin, convinced the city council to convert to a full municipal court.

Robinson has also served as a board member of the state District and Municipal Court Judges Association from June 2015 until June of this year.

Judge Robinson said he has been able to regularly assign personalized sentences that are character building and educational.

"The only thing a court, judge or prosecutor can do is give opportunities; it's the individuals who take the opportunities," Robinson commented. He said he tries to open defendant's eyes to what has happened and how they can change.

"I think it's really important that they have a reason to change their behavior," he added.

He believes a lot of people don't understand the negatives of being in the criminal justice system. Robinson has made a habit, sometimes to the irritation of several lawyers who have come before him, of talking directly to their clients to find out what they are doing with their lives, what they hope to achieve and sharing 'war stories' of how people have lost opportunities due to past records even decades after the fact.

Robinson has had to limit his involvement with extrajudicial activities in order to remain impartial and fair, but he has been able to give presentations on law, the legal system and the administration of justice to impact outreach programs and on the WSU campus. Robinson has given community service credit to defendants who have created an opportunity for him to speak to their fraternity or sorority house, or to dorm floor gatherings.