Opinion: Judge Basden's Email to a Former Clallam County Commissioner Violated the Judicial Code of Conduct
Earlier this year, we published a defensive, multi-page email sent by Clallam County Superior Court Judge Brent Basden to former County Commissioner Bill Peach in November 2020.
On the surface, the exchange showcased a jurist with remarkably thin skin, launching a lengthy tirade over a routine newspaper quote criticizing the judicial appointment process.
But if you look past the judge’s defensive posture and his eager defense of the governor’s office, the fine print of the email reveals something far more alarming.
Judge Basden was not merely expressing his personal frustration to a colleague.
By consciously maneuvering to use his official government email—and manually wielding his highest judicial title to publicly shame an elected representative—Judge Basden marched straight into an ethical minefield.
In doing so, he engaged in a coercive, retaliatory act that fundamentally violates the Washington State Code of Judicial Conduct.
On June 13, I submitted a formal complaint to the Commission on Judicial Conduct explicitly outlining these violations.
My complaint alleges that Judge Basden intentionally abused the prestige of his judicial office in an attempt to chill the First Amendment-protected political speech of an elected Clallam County Commissioner.
The Catalyst and the “Wink-Wink” Quote
The catalyst for Judge Basden’s ire was a quote published in the Peninsula Daily News on Sunday, November 29, 2020.
Commissioner Peach, expressing a political opinion regarding a well-documented statewide trend, stated: “I really don’t appreciate this wink-wink, nod-nod of superior court judges stepping down a year before the end of their term, and that allows the governor to make a decision.”
As an elected representative, Commissioner Peach possessed a bedrock First Amendment right—and a duty to his constituents—to publicly critique government processes.
Democratic oversight explicitly includes questioning the mechanisms by which judicial vacancies are filled.
In direct retaliation for this protected political speech, Judge Basden fired off a hostile email at 7:45 PM the following evening.
Using his official county government address and invoking the subject line “Judicial Independence,” Judge Basden carbon-copied a wide audience to ensure maximum institutional pressure.
The email was addressed to Peach, but it copied fellow Commissioners Randy Johnson and Mark Ozias.
A Telling Typographical Error
The Washington State Code of Judicial Conduct strictly forbids a judge from using the prestige of their office to advance personal interests or coerce others (Canon 1, Rule 1.3).
If Judge Basden had merely sent an email as a concerned private citizen, the ethical implications might be different.
But the true smoking gun of this CJC violation lies at the very bottom of the document.
Judge Basden officially signed the reprimand utilizing his title, but he made a highly significant typographical error:
Judge Brent Basden
Presiding Judging [sic]
Clallam County Superior Court
This is not a harmless administrative typo. It proves unequivocally that this was not a standard, pre-configured automated email signature block passively attached to the message.
Rather, it demonstrates that Judge Basden consciously and manually typed out his official judicial title in the heat of the moment.
He specifically chose to physically append his highest title to a political grievance to ensure Commissioner Peach felt the full weight of the judicial branch coming down on him.
A judge may not intentionally weaponize their title as a cudgel to silence public or political criticism.
Prior Restraint and Coercion
In the email, Judge Basden attacked Commissioner Peach’s public comments as “irresponsible,” “disheartening,” and a “disservice to the judiciary.”
But he didn’t stop there. He went on to chastise the commissioner for not consulting the judges prior to speaking to the press.
By demanding that the legislative branch ask permission from the judicial branch before making public comments, Judge Basden attempted to establish an unconstitutional expectation of prior restraint.
Furthermore, under CJC Canon 3, Rule 3.1, judges are prohibited from engaging in extrajudicial activities that are coercive.
Using official channels to publicly shame a coordinate branch of government in front of their peers over a newspaper quote crosses the line into coercive political retaliation.
Eroding Public Confidence
Judges are expected to act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary (Rule 1.2).
Sending a defensive, hostile email to an elected official regarding a newspaper quote demonstrates a severe lack of judicial temperament.
But Judge Basden went a step further. Rather than remaining an impartial arbiter, he descended into a partisan-adjacent dispute.
In paragraph 5 of his email, Basden engaged in political whataboutism, openly criticizing the Board of County Commissioners’ own appointment process regarding District Court II and Judge Rohrer.
By retaliating against a coordinate branch of government in this manner, Judge Basden signaled to the public that the Superior Court is defensive, politically entangled, and entirely willing to exact retribution against its critics.
As we reported in March, this behavior fits a larger pattern.
Judge Basden has repeatedly demonstrated a troubling hostility toward robust public debate, even launching into courtroom outbursts where he labeled my journalism as “cyberbullying.”
Accountability is Required
Democratic oversight is often messy, tedious, and politically uncomfortable. But the remedy for political friction is not to bring the full, institutional weight of the judicial branch crashing down on a critic.
Judges are not immune from public criticism, and they are expressly prohibited from manually invoking their official titles to bully, chill, or suppress the protected speech of citizens or other elected officials.
Judge Basden’s deliberate decision to physically type out his “Presiding Judge” title to scold a county commissioner was a gross overstep of judicial boundaries and a clear, intentional abuse of his office’s prestige.
I completely agree with you that this was not proper for a judge, any judge to comment on. I was then, am now, completely against ONE person filling an open Judge slot. The governor should not be the one who decides on who sits on the bench.
There was something FISHY going on during the reign of Inslee, where more than 200 judges stepped down, retired, or made other excuses MID-TERM and only Inslee knows why he selected those appointed in their place. Washington state does NOT have a Judicial selection process...(we elect ours). There is no back-up system. We don't run special elections, as some states. And the number of Judges that Inslee appointed exceeds any -- record setting -- for every state, for our state. The only requirement is that they must be 'admitted to practice law'. That's it... no judgy experience.
At one point we had all three sitting judges APPOINTED in Clallam County. And, since it's RARE to have anyone challenge these incumbents in elections -- we end up with what we have. Never as the state intended. It was a completely gamed system. And, look what has happened, since!
Now, we simply have two original Inslee appointees... however, we don't know what criteria got them selected. We don't know what favors, donations, or dark and obscure reasons they were chosen. All that's stated in press releases is that the governor and "his team" review them. Not a panel of their peers. (It's probably not bi-partisan, either.)
Olympia has not moved a millimeter to fix the practice of allowing a Governor to stack the judicial benches, including Washington State Supreme Court Justices (the ones who in-turn appoint those on the Judicial Review Committee). Fergy just appointed two... and I don't know why the sitting, elected retired. No one does.
It's hinky as hell.
Mr. Peach was not acting independently -- many were asking him why we had no say about who was getting placed in these positions of power. It was a revolving door of appointees.
Many were silenced for asking this out loud. The PDN article by a sitting judge, was just a message to heed.
Perhaps we should be suspect of the sudden highly publicized "DUI" of Peach that may have influenced the election to oust him. Perhaps we should be suspicious of the Charter Review pushing to make voting for commissioner county-wide and not just by district (this was championed by Norma Turner, btw). I was told by a retired judge, that this was a way to rig the election ---- maybe I was lied to. Perhaps it was just an errant thought and comment.
Something is very wrong in this state.....
Thank you! Your ability to expose corruption with dignity and grace is impressive.
Please consider taking on the Family Court system in Spokane. I have another court date on July 7 that could end up with jail time. The obvious abuse is absurd.
Check this out:
https://www.investigatewest.org/spokane-prosecutors-are-suddenly-declining-to-charge-more-felony-domestic-violence-cases-citing-staffing-issues/