About Commissioner Shane Silverthorn
About Commissioner Shane Silverthorn
- As a judicial officer I have taken an oath to uphold the Laws and the Constitutions of the United States and Washington State. I take this oath, and the oath I swore in 1990 when entering the United States Air Force, very seriously.
- My judicial philosophy: A Judge or Commissioner must ensure access to justice for all people and must make decisions in a transparent, ethical, fair, and impartial manner, basing decisions only on the facts of the case and application of the law. We must be diligent in our preparation and we must continually improve our knowledge of the law. We must continually engage with our community so that we understand and support the people we serve.
- MY BACKGROUND
- I was born in Yakima Washington on March 29, 1970 to Joel and Betty Silverthorn, teachers in the Selah School District. My maternal grandparents, Goldie and Mac McDowell had an orchard on Slade Road in Selah, and my grandaunt Maggie and granduncle Willy also owned an orchard in Selah. I learned to work in the orchards at a young age, picking apples, pears, and cherries. My paternal grandparents were from Okanogan and Tonasket Washington. My grandfather Chuck was a career Army officer, and my grandmother Evelyn grew up farming cattle, horses, chickens, and other livestock. Riding horses in Omak is one of my fondest childhood memories. My father grew up at military bases all over the world, and then attended junior high and high school in Selah after Chuck was stationed in Yakima. My mother was born and raised in Selah.
- In 1979 my brother, Shawn, and I moved with my parents to Alaska where my granduncles Claude and Sam and their families lived. My uncle Claude was a carpenter and built the Izaac Walton gun club in Chugiak, Alaska. There I learned to set trap and shoot trap and skeet. By age 13 I was competing in trap shooting tournaments, primarily turkey shoots.
- All my Alaskan relatives love the outdoors. I was fortunate to grow up fishing the Kenai, Knik, Matanuska, and Russian Rivers, bird hunting in Talkeetna, and fishing for halibut in Homer Alaska.
- In Washington we also spent a great deal of time fishing lakes and rivers, bird hunting, and trap shooting.
- Uncle Claude began teaching me carpentry at age 12, a skill that I have used all my life. I worked as a carpenter in the U.S. Air Force and while attending college at Central Washington University. While studying for the Washington State Bar exam, my friend Dave Griffin and I built several houses in Selah off of 11th Steet. We also built decks, fences, retaining walls, carports, and installed underground irrigation during my college years.
- Because my parents had the summers off, we spent most of the summer in Selah visiting our friends and relatives. Because of this I am fortunate to have grown up with two hometowns. In the summers I earned money mowing lawns and picking strawberries, raspberries, and tree fruit.
- I graduated from West Anchorage High School in 1988.
- In 1988 I attended Yakima Valley College for a two quarters and then enrolled at Central Washington University in June of 1989.
- In 1990 I joined the Unites States Air Force Reserves. I attended basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio Texas. I was stationed at McChord AFB in Tacoma where I served on active duty through Desert Shield, then returned to Central Washington University. I served my one weekend a month duty at McChord AFB. I received an honorable discharge in 1996 with the rank of sergeant.
- I graduated from CWU in June of 1993 with a major in political science and a minor in economics. During my last year there and the year after college I worked as a juvenile rehabilitation counselor at Ridgeview Group Home in Yakima. On my days off, my friends and I installed underground irrigation and landscaping.
- I attended Gonzaga University School of Law from August 1994 to June 1997, earning my Juris Doctorate. During Law School I worked for nine months at University Legal Assistance, and two other Spokane law firms. The practice areas I worked in were primarily personal injury, family law, and civil litigation. After law school I spent a year in San Diego and worked for the law firm of Latham and Watkins.
- In 1998 I passed the Washington State Bar Exam and began my career as an attorney. I started my law firm in Tacoma Washington in 1999. I practiced mainly in Pierce, King, Thurston, and Kitsap counties until my wife and I returned to the Yakima Valley in August of 2011. I opened a law office in Selah and practiced mainly in Yakima, Kittitas, Benton, and Franklin Counties and occasionally Chelan, Grant, Whitman, and Walla Walla counties.
- In 2013 I was sworn in as Judge Pro Tempore in Yakima County District Court. After that I was also sworn in as Judge Pro Tempore in Wapato and Toppenish Municipal Courts.
- On May 15, 2017 I was sworn in as Yakima County Superior Court Commissioner where I have served as a full time judicial officer for almost seven years.
- MY HOBBIES AND FREE TIME
- My wife and I and my three children (ages 25, 19, and 17) and I have enjoyed camping, hiking, kayaking, and river rafting for many years. We like to travel to destinations throughout the northwest for these activities. Every year we camp for a week on Father's Day at Bumping Lake, which is one of my favorite places to be. My 78 year old mother never misses this trip and swims and floats on the lake, just like she did growing up here. I enjoy skiing, and my wife and I spend a lot of time hiking and walking our dogs at the Cowiche Canyon and many places on the Eastern slopes of White Pass and Chinook Pass.
- Like most families we spent many years enjoying youth sports and activities as our children were growing up. We participate in my daughter's Special Olympics activities, track, bowling, and basketball are the main sports she participates in. My youngest son played many sports growing up and now he participates in marching band, jazz, band, and many academic activities like model United Nations, knowledge bowl, and theater. My oldest child lives and works in Virginia. Growing up he participated in soccer, choir, and theater.
- I maintain my carpentry skills by remodeling our home. This is one of may favorite thigs to do and I have remodeled every home I have lived in. My wife and I also enjoy vegetable gardening and maintaining our acreage.
My Legal Career
- Prior to being appointed to the Bench as a fulltime judicial officer in 2017, I practiced law as an attorney in Washington State for nearly 19 years, the majority of the time as a sole practitioner.
- I have practiced law in approximately two-thirds of Washington's counties, and I am admitted to practice in both the Western and Eastern U.S. District Courts in Washington State.
- CIVIL LAW EXPERIENCE: Civil defense litigation for large businesses, small businesses, and individuals mostly in the areas of contract litigation, torts, and land use. I have also represented individuals in personal injury cases.
- BUSINESS EXPERIENCE: Business entity creation for Corporations, Limited Liability Companies, and Partnerships. For business clients I also drafted leases, purchase and sales agreements, applications for liquor and gambling licenses, and various land use applications.
- FAMILY LAW: Throughout my career I have represented people in cases involving divorce, parenting plans, and modifications of parenting plans and child support. I also represented parents both privately and through the Office of Public Defense in dependency cases brought by the State Attorney General's Office.
- CRIMINAL LITIGATION: Throughout my career I have represented individuals charged with misdemeanors and felonies in Washington State Courts and Federal Courts. I have represented individuals as both private counsel and publicly appointed counsel. I have contracted to provide indigent defense services in many counties, including, Pierce, Thurston, Kitsap, Kittitas, Yakima, Benton and Franklin.
- APPEALS: From 2011 until May of 2017 I provided indigent appellate service for the City of Yakima in Yakima County Superior Court. During my career I also provided appellate services for individuals in cases arising out of administrative agencies and civil litigation.
- ESTATE PLANNING: As a sole practitioner I often drafted wills, powers of attorney, living wills, and other necessary estate planning documents for my clients. I have also represented clients in probate cases and trust litigation.
- TRIAL EXPERIENCE: In addition to civil trials I have represented individuals in hundreds of jury trials who were charged with misdemeanor, gross misdemeanor, and felonies. I have been to trial on all levels of felonies from malicious mischief to murder. From 2011 to 2017 I contracted with Benton and Franklin Counties representing individuals charged in three strikes and homicide cases.
- I believe it is imperative that judges of the superior court are knowledgeable in all areas of practice and that they have a great deal of experience with jury trials. Jury trials can be very complicated, adversarial, and emotionally charged, and experience is the best way to learn how to manage a jury trial effectively.
My involvement
- SPECIAL OLYMPICS OF WASHINGTON: As a father of a child engaged in Special Olympics it has been an absolute pleasure and a joy to be involved with local, regional, and state tournaments. The feelings of accomplishment, comradery, and joy experienced by these athletes is heartwarming and amazing to behold.
- VOULANTEER ATTORNEY SERVICES: I am proud to have served on the board of directors of Yakima Volunteer Attorney Services since 2021. VAS serves some of Yakima Counties most vulnerable population, providing advocacy and litigation services free of charge. The attorneys at VAS have worked with me in my role as the family court commissioner. Since November 2022 they have been appearing at status hearings every Friday morning to assist unrepresented litigants finalize there family law cases. VAS attorneys and legal assistants have helped hundreds of clients in both English and Spanish to resolve their cases, free of charge. VAS and I and Superior Court Administration are currently developing a free family law clinic for both English and Spanish speaking litigants that will be held twice a month in the courthouse.
- WSBA: As a member of the Washington State Bar Association I have worked as a committee member of the Family Law Bar Committee and the Criminal Law Bar Committee. I volunteered at family law legal clinics assisting parents and victims of domestic violence. I helped them draft pleadings and represent themselves in divorce cases, establish parenting plans, obtain child support orders and domestic violence protection orders. I also taught continuing legal education in the areas of discovery, criminal motions practice, and arraignments.
- SCJA: Since my appointment as a Superior Court Commissioner I have served on various committees including Therapeutic Courts, Public Outreach, Family and Juvenile Law, and Criminal Rules and Procedures.
- JUDICIAL COLLEGE FACULTY AND DEAN: Each year at the end of January all newly appointed or elected judges in the state must attend judicial college. This training is a week or longer. I served as faculty for three years, 2022, 2023, and 2024 teaching beginning family law. In 2023 I was one of two assistant deans and in 2024 I was one of two deans. The role of a the deans is to coordinate with the Administrative Office of the Courts educators and Judges and Commissioners who volunteer as faculty. The curriculum is very broad and covers nearly all areas of law commonly encountered in Superior, District, and Municipal Courts.
- Prior to moving back to the Yakima Valley I was involved with a church in Tacoma and with them I traveled to Mexico to build small houses for families in need. Meeting and working for these families was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.