Judge has had big cases, but not as hot as this one

A former colleague characterizes Judge Robert Alsdorf as "brilliant," and the King County Bar Association ranks him among the county's top judges.

"You'll find that he's most well-respected by people who have been his adversaries in court," said Peter Maier, a Seattle attorney.

But yesterday, anti-tax activist Tim Eyman called the judge's latest ruling "despicable."

And the state Attorney General's Office, which has defended the initiative in court, said it will appeal the judge's decision.

Alsdorf ruled that Initiative 695 - which replaced the state's motor-vehicle excise tax with a flat $30 fee and mandated public votes on all tax increases - violated the state constitution, which requires that initiative questions deal with only one subject.

In an interview in his chambers after the decision, the chief civil judge for King County Superior Court defended his ruling, saying it was based solely on law.

"I decide the way the law requires, and the reactions are what they are," he said.

Alsdorf, 54, was appointed to the bench in 1990, and this is his most high-profile decision.

He presided over cases in 1998 concerning a proposed third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Alsdorf rejected a challenge by opponents to the runway, including Des Moines, the Puget Sound Regional Council and the state's Growth Management Hearings Board.

In 1995, the state Court of Appeals overturned his 1994 sentencing of a Magnolia businessman, George Gehrett, who killed his wife and dumped her body in Hood Canal. Gehrett was originally sentenced to 17 years in prison, three years more than the standard maximum sentence. He was eventually sentenced to 13 1/2 years in prison.

As an attorney, Alsdorf worked in civil rights, torts and commercial litigation. From 1975 to 1979, he worked for the firm Culp Dwyer Guterson & Grader, and from 1979 to 1990, for the firm Armstrong Alsdorf Bradbury & Maier.

In a 1982 federal case, he took on Mobil Oil on behalf of two gas-station operators who said the corporation broke antitrust laws by trying to force them to sell excessive quantities of high-priced Mobil-brand tires and oil. He ultimately won the case and an appeal.

He became a judge "because I felt tired of the one-sidedness of being an attorney."

"Usually the truth is somewhere between both sides," Alsdorf said.

The son of missionaries, Alsdorf was raised in Japan. Before attending Yale Law School, he served in the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone, where he taught world history in a rural high school.

He also learned Russian and in 1969 traveled to the Soviet Union. "My philosophy was `know your enemy,' " Alsdorf said. "I wanted to understand what made them click." He's since returned to the region several times, helping former Soviet republics draft their constitutions and laws.

Alsdorf and his wife have two grown children and live in Seattle. His office is decorated with photographs of the two of them in the outdoors, as well as pieces of African wood-carved art.

He said he enjoys being a judge, immensely. He is seeking reelection this year.

"It's personally challenging everyday, it's intellectually challenging everyday," he said. "Everyday has a new issue, a new matter. You learn a tremendous amount about people and life."

Joshua Robin's phone message number is 206-464-8255. His e-mail address is jrobin@seattletimes.com