The Clark County council has appointed District Court Commissioner Kristen Parcher to fill the vacancy left on the District Court bench following Judge Vernon L. Schreiber’s death last week.
Council Chair Marc Boldt said Parcher, 40, of Brush Prairie came in a close second earlier this year when she applied to replace Judge James Swanger, who retired at the end of February. Parcher was one of four finalists for the seat; the council ultimately selected Chad Sleight.
“She came highly recommended — highly with the (Clark County Bar Association) and other judges. She interviewed just simply great, so we all thought she’s a great fit,” Boldt said in a phone message Thursday. “And we believe, especially now with the two judges we have fulfilled, there’s a good future with the other judges already there in District Court.”
The council voted to make the appointment Wednesday after meeting in executive session. Parcher received the news Wednesday night, and she said she is happy the council felt confident enough in her to make the appointment without opening up the position.
“I feel great. It’s obviously bittersweet, because nobody wants an appointment because a friend and colleague passes away,” she said in a phone interview Thursday. “I know Judge Schreiber wanted me to have his position if he retired or was unable to return to work, so I feel really good about it in that sense and feel really honored to take the position over from him.”
Schreiber, who served about 30 years on the bench, died April 25 at the age of 74. He had been on medical leave from the court since mid-February, during which time Parcher filled in for him.
“I definitely want to make Judge Schreiber proud and continue on his legacy being very involved in the community. He had a great open-door policy. Attorneys and the public, alike, had the opportunity to get to know him,” she said.
When Parcher applied for Swanger’s seat in February, local lawyers overwhelmingly supported her. Out of seven candidates, she took the top spot on the bar association’s preference poll and received the highest ratings in temperament and integrity.
Parcher has practiced law for 13 years — six of those years on the bench. She previously worked for Vancouver Defenders, providing indigent defense services and was a family law practitioner at a private firm.
She earned her law degree in 2004 from the University of Oregon School of Law.
Parcher sat two terms on the board for the Volunteer Lawyers Program, and served as secretary and president. She is a member of the local George and Donald Simpson American Inn of Court, and has served in various board positions. She additionally served as treasurer for the Clark County Bar Association Family Law Section and volunteered at family law advice clinics.
In light of the vacancy left by Parcher’s appointment, the court offered the full-time position to Commissioner Todd N. George, whose current seat is part-time.
George is a veteran of the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He received his law degree in 2000 from the University of Oregon School of Law, and previously served as a defense attorney and later a prosecutor at courts-martial while in the U.S. Army. After he left active duty, he worked as a prosecutor for the city of Vancouver, an assistant attorney general for the state and in private practice, according to his court biography.
The court will now look to fill the part-time commissioner seat, Parcher said, but has not yet discussed the hiring process.
Parcher will be sworn in to her new seat during a ceremony tentatively scheduled for 4 p.m. May 16.
“I want to continue serving the community in this capacity. I think we have a lot of challenges at this time, with how many people need legal services. But I’m excited to face that challenge and continue to work on the things that I was as a commissioner,” she said. “I’m really honored and really appreciate the county councilors appointing me.”
