By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
Pierce County Superior Court Commissioner Doris M. Walkins is taking a bold step forward in her legal career by announcing her candidacy for Pierce County Superior Court Judge, Department 9. In her role as a Pierce County Superior Court Commissioner, Walkins has made her mark by handling complex cases ranging from family law to civil disputes and involuntary commitment hearings, all aimed at protecting vulnerable members of the community.
Before her tenure as a commissioner, Walkins ran her own law firm, Doris M. Walkins, Attorney at Law, PLLC, for over 16 years. In her practice, she covered various areas, including family law, juvenile law, dependency law, adoptions, domestic violence protection orders, misdemeanor criminal defense, and estate planning. Additionally, she has served 14 years as Title 26 guardian ad litem, conducting numerous parenting investigations in Pierce County and advocating for families’ safety and unity.
A native of Baltimore, Maryland, the 45-year-old commissioner/attorney moved to Tacoma at the young age of 19 in 1998. While in Tacoma, Wilkins attended Pierce College on Fort Lewis, where she obtained an associate degree before transferring to the University of Washington – Tacoma where she earned a degree in Art, Media, and Culture. She then went on to earn her law degree from Seattle University, School of Law, in 2006.
Walkins says that her experience as a commissioner has fueled her desire to position herself to implement transformative changes on the bench.
“I was inspired to become a superior court judge because commissioners have what I like to call, ‘feedback authority’,” says Walkins. “We can give feedback on certain ideas, but we don’t have voting power, like judges do to implement things and I want to be able to have that voting power and that decision-making authority to implement things, such as expanding our therapeutic courts, expanding our community partnerships to provide services for our therapeutic court. We need those service providers so that we can make the therapeutic courts work.”
“I want to have more say in our strategic planning,” Walkins continues. “Such as how are going to steer our courts forwards. As a commissioner you have some say, you can give feedback, brainstorm, share ideas, but you don’t have the power to implement anything. And I am really drawn to some transformative changes in our courts.”
While Walkins provides voters with a breadth of experience in her private practice to go along with her experience on the bench, admittedly the biggest challenge she faces is increasing her visibility and connection with voters across Pierce County.
“The biggest challenge is people getting to know who I am,” says Walkins. “Pierce county is such a huge county, and it is not lost on me that I am a Black woman. That is going to be a challenge, I don’t have the statistics off the top of my head on the winning percentage of Black women in this county, I try not to think about that.”
“You can’t really let statistics dictate what you decide to do, but I think that my biggest challenge is getting in front of the people and letting them get to know me as a candidate and a person, so they can make an informed and educated decision when they get their ballot,” adds Walkins.
Walkins is also very candid about the challenges of managing a high volume of cases and the commitment and dedication required to make sure, as a judge, that you are providing equitable and just treatment for all by being thoroughly prepared for each case that comes before you.
“What is challenging is the volume of need in the community,” says Walkins. “We have huge dockets, huge commissioner dockets. As a commissioner, we can, in the morning, have as low as nine cases and then in the afternoon that number can rise to 20 to 30 cases.”
“But probably the biggest challenge as a commissioner and judge is making sure that you are adequately prepared for each hearing, litigants deserve that, that you’re prepared and that you are making a ruling based on the information that you have been provided. I am very big on being prepared,” Walkins continued.
Fairness and equality are pillars in Walkin’s value system as a court official. Walkins believes fairness and an equity perspective sets her apart from her competition as well as a transformative mindset, and an extensive judicial background.
“I would like the voters to know that if you want transformative change on the bench the way the voters, I believe, wanted, I think I can do that,” says Walkins. “Having someone as an advocate and with an investigative background, it just gives you a more well-rounded perspective when you have litigants in front of you.”
“I am also very fair and equity minded,” adds Walkins. “Because I have represented so many different types of people, I can see nuances that maybe someone else may not see because I have the experience of working with such a diverse pool of litigants and now presiding over a such a diverse pool of people that come before me. Because of this I really get a fair outcome for the litigants.”
