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YAKIMA -- The field of Yakima County District Court judge finalists is set, and county commissioners expect to pick one later this month.

The finalists, chosen by the commissioners from a field of 13 applicants, are: Yakima private attorney and Selah Municipal Court Judge Brian Sanderson, Yakima County deputy prosecutor Steve Keller, Yakima corporate attorney Doug Federspiel, Lower Valley attorney and Toppenish Municipal Court Judge John Maxwell, state Administrative Hear-ings Judge Ralph Thompson, and Yakima County public defender Jeff West.

Commissioner Mike Leita, who along with the other two commissioners will begin interviewing the six finalists today, said he's looking for a candidate willing to enforce the letter of the law.

"I want a judge who, if a person is found to be guilty ... they do their time," Leita said, adding that as a Republican he doesn't want a judge who is soft on crime.

His colleague on the commission, Ron Gamache, is also a Republican but has a distinctly different idea about what he's looking for in a District Court judge.

"You need to have the temperament and, I guess, the compassion," Gamache said. "Sometimes the answer is not to be a big hammer but a guiding force."

The successful candidate may have to be somewhere in between what he and Leita want, Gamache added.

"That's why there's three of us to make the decision," he said, referring to himself, Leita and Commissioner Rand Elliott.

The county's legal com-munity has offered its opinion, through a poll of the Yakima County Bar Assoc-iation membership. In that poll, local attorneys ranked Sanderson first with 188 points. He was followed by Keller, 110, Federspiel, 95, and Maxwell, 88. Thompson and West finished seventh and eighth with 58 and 57 points, respectively.

The commissioners, however, said they used those rankings only to narrow the field, and the candidates will all be interviewed on an even plane.

Sanderson, who said he was humbled by the support of his peers, believes splitting time between the municipal bench in Selah and his private practice in Yakima gives him an edge.

"I have a lot of relevant legal experience, and there's kind of a perception that I can hit the ground running," he said.

The appointee will replace Judge Michael McCarthy, who left the District Court in February for an open spot on the Yakima County Superior Court bench. The District Court seat will be up for election in November, so this is only a short appointment. The job pays $132,233 annually and that will increase to $141,719 in September.

* Pat Muir can be reached at 577-7693 or pmuir@yakimaherald.com.