What does a former rock star know about crime and justice in Seattle? We put that question to this week's guest, King County District Court Judge Bardi Martin, who played bass for the hugely successful Seattle rock band Candlebox in the 1990s before trading the traveling circus of rock and roll for the strange theater of the American justice system.

These days, he confronts some of the region's most intractable problems from the bench: addiction, homelessness, poverty, and crime.

We dig into the Seattle area's experiment with community court, following up on our recent interview with Seattle City Attorney Erika Evans, who has revived the program with a greater emphasis on accountability under a new name, Connection Court.

Martin oversees a community court program in suburban King County, where people charged with low-level crimes can have their cases dismissed by completing treatment, community service, and other requirements. But what happens when they don't comply? Does community court actually reduce property crime or repeat offenses? And why does Martin believe it isn't right for everyone?

And, of course, we find out why Martin walked away from one of Seattle's biggest rock bands, and whether he got rich along the way.

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Holy shit. That wasn't just a blue wave. Democrats drove a political steamroller through some of the reddest states in the country last night, and we're here for it. We recorded this special emergency edition of Seattle Nice at 9 p.m. on election night, with results still rolling in across the country. So, what's Seattle's piece of the story?

After the first count, progressive Nilu Jenks was crushing moderate Julie Kang in the race for Seattle City Council District 5. We talk about why progressives are doing so well in Seattle after voters seemed to be moving toward the center just a few years ago.

But are voters actually moving further left? And what does another progressive on the council mean for Mayor Katie Wilson's agenda?

We also get into Washington's statewide ballot measures, including the effort to repeal the millionaires' tax and the controversial proposal to ban trans girls from girls' sports. Why is that measure leading in a state that's otherwise voting so blue?

Thanks to Uncle Ike's pot shop for sponsoring this week's episode! If you want to advertise please contact us at realseattlenice@gmail.com

Support the show

Your support on Patreon helps pay for editing, production, live events and the unique, hard-hitting local journalism and commentary you hear weekly on Seattle Nice.

Seattle's progressive new city attorney, Erika Evans, is bringing back a version of the community court that her predecessor, Republican Ann Davison, axed in 2023. Evans hopes to fix what she sees as flaws in the old system by giving people accused of relatively minor crimes better access to services and treatment, with more accountability.

Evans joins us on Seattle Nice, along with Jenna Robert, the criminal division chief in her office, to explain how the new Connection Court is supposed to work and why they think it will succeed where the old community court fell short. They also walk us through a related new policy, known as HiPRO, which targets repeat offenders.

Sandeep, who was a harsh critic of the old community court, likes a lot of what he’s hearing. Erica has serious doubts about the overall approach, particularly the push for more aggressive prosecution and potentially more jail time for people charged with three offenses in 90 days. David likes the idea of combining progressive compassion with accountability but wants to see clear measures of success.

We also get into Seattle's stubbornly high property crime rate, what Evans learned from a recent fact-finding trip to San Francisco, and her plans for a new sex trafficking prosecutor focused on Aurora Avenue.

Thanks to Uncle Ike's pot shop for sponsoring this week's episode! If you want to advertise please contact us at realseattlenice@gmail.com

Support the show

Your support on Patreon helps pay for editing, production, live events and the unique, hard-hitting local journalism and commentary you hear weekly on Seattle Nice.