Friends, family and colleagues filled a courtroom Thursday to see Nancy Retsinas sworn in as Clark County’s newest Superior Court judge.
Gov. Jay Inslee appointed Retsinas to the position after Judge Daniel Stahnke announced his retirement effective June 30 after a decade of service.
Retsinas thanked Stahnke for his work and promised to follow his example. She also highlighted her family and the ways they push her to make a difference. It is a position she said she doesn’t take lightly.
“I quickly grew to understand the very significant power that a judge carries,” Retsinas said from the witness stand after taking her oath of office. “Really, a single decision can alter a person’s life forever.”
She noted the precedent set by the first woman to serve on Clark County’s bench. Judge Barbara Johnson was appointed in 1987 and presided over Retsinas’ first trial, she said.
“It was inspiring to appear before such a commanding, understated, smart, competent judge, who was also female,” she said. “I must say that first glimmer of ‘Maybe I could do this someday,’ really was sparked by appearing in her courtroom and seeing just the high-quality jurist that she was.”
Retsinas acknowledged the increased calls for improvements to the criminal justice system across the country.
Why would she want to be a judge? “I’m sure there will be difficult moments,” Retsinas said, “but really, it’s pretty simple for me, harkening back to how our parents raised us. I want to be a contributor.”
Her husband, Jim, draped the black judicial robe over her shoulders after Judge Jennifer Snider administered the oath of office.
Her longtime colleague, attorney Howard Marshack, introduced Retsinas, calling her “the go-to person” for collaborative practice and as a mediator.
Retsinas founded Retsinas Collaborative Law Center, located in Vancouver, in 2015. She has served largely as a mediator for the last six years, assisting families with navigating ante-nuptial agreements and marriage dissolutions.
“The reason Nancy will be a good judge is because she’s a problem-solver,” Marshack said. “And resolving problems is what courts do.”
Bruce Colven, another colleague, hailed Retsinas’ listening skills when helping clients.
“In all the time I’ve known Nancy, I’ve seen her demonstrate that skill in an individual capacity, as well as in the courtroom,” Colven said. “And I know that Judge Retsinas will bring that skill to the bench.”
Retsinas earned her law degree from the University of Oregon and a bachelor’s degree from University of Portland. She graduated from Hudson’s Bay High School, and Colven noted she’ll now be working a few miles from the house where she grew up.
“It’s been said that a judicial investiture is like a funeral for the living,” Colven said. “People get up and say all these wonderful things about you. … These things are easy to say because they’re true.”
Snider wished Stahnke, who was not in attendance, a happy retirement “since he’s not here to stop me.”
“I want to say your smiling eyes are going to be missed by all of us,” she said of the retired judge.
As Snider ended the investiture, she said Retsinas reminded her and the dozens of other judges watching the ceremony virtually why they, too, wanted to become judges and the importance of the job.
