Hon. Jonathon Lack See Rating Details
Judge
Superior Court
Thurston County
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Attorney Average Rating:   2.2 - 8 rating(s)
Non-Attorney Average Rating:   3.0 - 21 rating(s)
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Only items marked with (*) are averaged into the displayed overall rating.


General Rating Criteria

* Temperament (1=Awful,10=Excellent)
* Scholarship (1=Awful,10=Excellent)
* Industriousness (1=Not at all industrious,10=Highly industrious)
* Ability to Handle Complex Litigation (1=Awful,10=Excellent)
* Punctuality (1=Chronically Late,10=Always on Time)
* General Ability to Handle Pre-Trial Matters (1=Not all Able, 10=Extremely Able)
* General Ability as a Trial Judge (1=Not all Able, 10=Extremely Able)
Flexibility In Scheduling (1=Completely Inflexible,10=Very Flexible)


Criminal Rating Criteria (if applicable)

* Evenhandedness in Criminal Litigation (1=Demonstrates Bias,10=Entirely Evenhanded)
General Inclination Regarding Bail (1=Pro-Defense,10=Pro-Government)
Involvement in Plea Discussions (1=Not at all Involved, 10=Very Involved)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases Pretrial Stage (1=Pro-prosecution,10=Pro-defense)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases Trial Stage (1=Pro-prosecution,10=Pro-defense)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases Sentencing Stage (1=Pro-prosecution,10=Pro-defense)


Civil Rating Criteria (if applicable)

* Evenhandedness in Civil Litigation (1=Not at all Evenhanded,10=Entirely Evenhanded)
Involvement in Settlement Discussions (1=Not at all Involved,10=Very Involved)
General Inclination (1=Pro-defendant, 10=Pro-plaintiff)
Comments


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What others have said about Hon. Jonathon Lack


Comments


Litigant

Comment #: WA2214
Rating:8.0
Comments:
I can only rate his effectiveness in working up a Child Support worksheet.

Was thorough and fact-based in preparing our Child Support order. Actually spent almost 2 hours in court crunching numbers.

Comm. Lack must have been a corporate accountant in a prior life, because he did the complex calculations easily.

He was a bit tempermental - didn't like context-switching, asked us to be quiet while he focused on his spreadsheet, but he plowed through taxes and all kinds of complex financials.

I especially liked that he did not fall for the mother's BS claims that I "had to be earning hundreds of thousands of dollars" because I volunteered for a startup as "VP of innovation" (position in title only), or her claims I was a "Principal Engineeer" at Microsoft, even though I was only an "SDE II". He said he could only use what he could PROVE - and that was from actual tax returns.

I'm unemployed, and did not like that he imputed me to a working salary, but he was impeccable in imputing me and the mother based on tax returns in a fair way.

If you need someone who can crunch numbers like a CPA, and not be intimidated by stocks, capital gains, corporate earnings, salaries, etc., he's the guy you want on the bench.

Other

Comment #: WA2201
Rating:1.0
Comments:
Comment #: WA2189 <-- In addition to this comment.

I was forced supervised and should never have been according to eventually the Chief Judge and even a psychiatrist.

My ex husband's attorney J Patrick Quinn was ruthless. He stood there at trial and lied to the Judge stating I had a mental disorder. Thus the Judge ordering me supervised again. Even though I had a medical assessment I had no mental disorder. I was ordered to pay $6000 in attorney fees for being intransigent. Fighting to be in your child's life is NOT intransigent. I have not paid them to this date. I refuse.

My ex husband got a protection order out and thus supervised again at a later date because I supposedly stalked his home and my daughter's school. I NEVER DID! He even accused me of abuse. NEVER.

I have a long list of real harassment and stalking by my ex and his wife and this court would never give me a protection order.

I was forced to pay a wealthy man child support for keeping my child from me. This was none other than a legal way to stalk me.

I was labeled vexatious. I was not. This is a tactic in most courts to try to scare the other party into backing off. Because of this I was forced into court by email only. Yes you heard that right. Probably the only one ever. Denial of due process. After a year of this I wrote the Attorney general and strangely 3 days later this was removed.

This court failed my daughter and myself and enabled and was complicit with my ex husbands selfish needs and abusive behavior. This court cost me a life with my daughter! Trust me to this day I have not given up trying and will until my last breath. For 20 years I have fought to be in her life. I wrote the AG, I went to the WA Supreme Court, what a joke. I wrote the DOJ in D.C. <--- all inconsistent with the lies they spew.

It is in your best interest and your child to do what it takes to work together outside of family court. Be the better parent, bend and go to counseling instead of family court. Stay out of corrupt Thurston County family court. Do not give any of your money to this system. God bless any of you that find yourself in this court system.

Litigant

Comment #: WA2189
Rating:1.0
Comments:
To the Governor of Washington. It is disgusting how you let this commissioner continue on the bench all these years. Read all the below!

This is Kim, I believe his first Thurston County case and I am back to tell you the life long consequences.

A decade later my beautiful adult daughter is still not in my life because of this commissioner and former Judge Wickhams acts and a corrupt family law system. Oh and don't forget a severe case of parental alienation, of course facilitated by the corrupt courts.

All for greed and money.

It is disgusting.

I urge all of you in this situation today get a very, very good attorney. You do not stand a chance at it alone no matter how well you can plead your case.

All these bad acts do have lifelong sad consequences years later. I still try hard to this day and still hope and pray one day. At least a plus my family is in my daughter's life and I am in theirs (once I was not). God bless all of you that have to go in front of Washington's corrupt family court system.

Other

Comment #: WA2133
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
I am in bad luck to have him to make decisions on my protection order because he knew it is domestic violence case and I had been suffering for years, he said to me in the hearing:" Ms liang, whole bunch of people said you got mental problem." He dismissed my protection order.THIS IS defamation and persecution from those kept accusing me behind me. The commissioners can't take these public opinion into my case because it's family law that didn't indicate that public opinion would be considered in divorce or DV case. He heard the gossips and brought the gossips to the testimony, THIS IS UNFAIR and INJUSTICE TO me as I am the victim as well known.Mr.Lack didn't look into the solid evidence, he paid attention on the gossips without basis.He just brought me into the worse situation that it is encourage those troublemakers became more aggressive and crazier. He is not professional and qualified to be in his position.

Litigant

Comment #: WA2114
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
How he became a commissioner is Antibes guess. He ignores the law and uses his own interpretation. He was rude to litigants and attorneys alike. He seemed to genuinely hate his job and was angry he had to a lathe caseload.

Litigant

Comment #: WA2029
Rating:1.0
Comments:
He ignored all evidence my side presented. I showed how a child is living in a home full of dog poop and pee that has accumulated over 7 weeks along with small pieces of plastic that a 14 month can choke on. Based on previous ruling that I won and he totally changes the decision. He needs reprimanding, sanctioning and removal from the bench. I would rate him a zero if I could!

Litigant

Comment #: WA2016
Rating:2.0
Comments:
I went in front of Com. Lack requesting an extension to an immediate restraining order protecting myself and my two-children from my abusive partner mid-divorce. The ask was simple - not restricting time with the kids but ensuring protections for myself and then during hand-offs and other interactions. He not only refused the extension but he wrote in his findings, "The court concludes that modifying the Temporary Parenting Plan would do nothing to address the concerns raised by (my name) in her motion. Instead, both parents would be better served, and more importantly their children would be better served, by the parents learning to better communicate and understanding the effect of their conflict upon their children." Then he made us both read an article on co-parenting from 1998 (22 years ago). My ex had been proven abusive through a full FCS report. I felt like I was in the twilight zone. He should be held accountable for these sorts of statements and rulings. People (most importantly children) can be put in serious danger by this sort of outdated thinking.

Litigant

Comment #: WA1992
Rating:1.0
Comments:
Incredibly rude and unhelpful. Refused to accept any of my documentation, including my own statement. Wrote out the most ridiculous temporary family law order and refused to listen when I explained that it was not possible for my family to follow it. He has absolutely no business being a commissioner or holding any power over anyone, not even a pet!

Litigant

Comment #: WA1968
Rating:1.0
Comments:
Like Indu Thomas he was not appointed on merit.
Both are MONSTERS.
Insist that any hearing is held BEFORE A GENUINE, QUALIFED JUSTICE, NOT A COMMISSIONER NOR A MAGISTRATE. These appoints are handed out as reward to dnoors, direct or indirect, to the Democrat Part shills.
Report their abuse to the Dept of Justice as COLOR OF LAW ABUSES. That's exactly what they are: Federal law, statute 18, 241-242. It might crowd out my cases, but get these child haters OFF THE BENCH. There may be a wait, but if enough complaints pile up and these monsters become a public embarrassment to the liberals, changes will be made. Also put facts on record with your State Senators etc, etc,,,

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: WA1967
Rating:1.4
Comments:
Same with Comment #: WAS1956.

I had to argue with him about facts that I wrote down in my own packet. It's clear he didn't read or even bother to care about my court case. He sided with my abuser, rapist, and stalker after I had clear evidence that he physically abused me with visible bruises and bleeding wounds. He said there was not enough (or good enough) evidence to determine that he's a menace to myself nonetheless, society. He sided with him like an old boys club. He let my abuser talk more than me and allowed him to get a last word in meanwhile I was crying. Johnathan does not help 22 year old women stay safe. He couldn't care less. Please keep him out of the court room. I am not the first nor the last person this has happened to and it's very concerning that Seattle court keeps him in this position. He made my protection order all about abuse instead of harm, in any form, which protection orders are for (not just domestic abuse).

Other

Comment #: WA1956
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
He was awful. No justice served. It was clear that he didn't even read my responses. I self represented but the other party had attorney. He didn't know about the case, but asked details of the case to the lawyer representing the other party.He seemed biased against pro se, given he hadn't even read my response. My case had a complication related to covid-19 visitation, no money involved. He also had me pay all of the attorney fees for the other party. How can justice be fairly served if commissioners like this are overseeing during these already unprecedented stressful times.

Litigant

Comment #: WA1764
Rating:1.0
Comments:
The King County Court system, specifically the family law division is appalling and Commissioner Lack is the worst part of it. I have always heard that Washington was a "woman's state" when it came to child custody and even as a woman, I actually always argued against the idea of that being allowed as the gender of the parent has nothing to do with the ability to parent. However, when I was facing false allegation, lies and false and excessive litigation coming at me face first by the father of my child who had kidnapped our child from her home with me, and concealed her location for over 2 weeks and then after 3 days of avoiding the process server hired to serve him the initiating documents from the case I started, filed his own identical motions and has me served with a temporary restraining order. When the first hearing ended in a continuance because his attorney didn't file the right papers (I had but since I was acting pro se and CPT Jason Holloway who only likes men and is just as bad is Lack) I was given supervised visitation but the restraining order was removed. My child's father refused to allow me the ordered visitation, accused me with NO proof of drug use, I had mountains of evidence against him from his abuse of my children to the fact that he is in this country illegally and is a flight risk, and the statement from the process server that he had lied and hidden from service. When we saw commissioner Lack, he had all of my evidence, my kids father provided no evidence at all. This was this morning. I just left the court with a new restraining order that wasn't even requested, my child's father retains custody of our daughter, with no evaluations or even comment on the photo evidence of his child abuse, but on the CLAIM of his that I do drugs, I get 4 hours a week supervised visitation through the court that I have to pay for even though I have had to quit my job to deal with the constant litigation being thrown at me, an and EXTREMELY excessive drug eval to be paid for by me. When I asked Lack what I am supposed to do if I can't afford it as I still have my other children at home to care for, he said "decide which ones are more important". I almost threw up. The only reason he even gets the one star is because he gave my 8 year old who was there a toy car. Probably to make up for the fact that he had heard Lack just tell his mother that I had to choose between him eating dinner or ever seeing his baby sister again.

Other

Comment #: WA1715
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Appalling.

Litigant

Comment #: WA1714
Rating:1.0
Comments:
There is nothing honorable about this fake judge. Completely biased and unprofessional. He's a perfect example of why judicial immunity needs to be abolished

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: WA1665
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
In 2012 Lack asked of a woman, "are you suicidal". "Where is my lawyer", she asked, to which he replied nothing. She told every mental health agency and the court appointed 'guardian ad lie den$', that she, a virgin, had been raped by two boys at the same time, the eldest child was not the rapists,(so traumatic a rape it was blackened in her mind). Lack asked the rapist, "would you like to take a paternity test"; to which he replied no. After months of PTSD abuse from the police, CPS, the courts, and the churches; lack asked "were" you suicidal, not 'are' you suicidal. Then robbed two innocent children of their mother. Associates child development spscc. Parle vous. Habla

Litigant

Comment #: WA1600
Rating:1.0
Comments:
Wow! Completely unprofessional! After having to deal with him as a defendant and seeing how he handles other cases, I have come to the conclusion that Commissioner Lack is incompetent as a judge. He grants protection orders with no good evidence, and when evidence is presented that he made a mistake, he completely brushed it off and put a protection order against me, and innocent person, and i have proof of it! Also proof that the petitioner committed fraud! It seems like once he has made his first decision, he will not ever go back on it. I feel he is biased, discriminating, and completely unfair! He should be taken off the bench for hurting innocent people!

Litigant

Comment #: WA1582
Rating:1.0
Comments:
Commissioner Lack handled our settlement conference in a such a way that it stoked conflict rather than set a tone for fair negotiation. He started our one hour session 45 minutes late, spent ten minutes talking about how he had a settle such an impossible case before ours. He then proceeded to praise and ingratiate himself to both of our attorneys. As the people using the court system to facilitate our divorce, it seemed we were walking into his private office where his clients were the attorneys and we were just props. He proceeded to aggressively and erratically make judgements from the paperwork submitted, following the trail of lies and innuendos put forward by the other party, making unsolicited comments about us but again focusing on the respected attorneys in the room. He clearly wanted things to go in one direction and wasn't listening or curious about the context of the entire situation. He cost us thousands of dollars, emotional turmoil and made it harder to move forward. He seemed very focused on making a good impression on the attorneys present. I felt very unsafe and mishandled in his presence.1

Other

Comment #: WA1531
Rating:1.0
Comments:
Seems to believe anything that is put in a document from a female petitioner in family court without question. If you are of the gender 'Male' then you are guilty. This is from personal experience. Nothing I had written mattered. Said I needed to quit smoking. I don't even smoke. Pathetic.

Litigant

Comment #: WA1382
Rating:2.0
Comments:
He does listen however fails to put in his orders what he says he is ruling in court thus "Lacking" detail and you have to go back again and again. He tries so hard to do the right thing and make the right decision but fails to ask the parents what works best for them and instead rules on what he thinks works best. If he's reading this, take time to know the people in front of you first before you make an order. If you have too many cases to hear then order people to mediation more. That goes for all of you Commissioners and Judges! Order equally to both parties and send people to mediation.

Litigant

Comment #: WA1289
Rating:1.0
Comments:
In 3+ years, I have had his rulings revised 7 times. SEVEN times he made rulings against me and the Judge did not agree and made it right. Every revision costs me $1000s in time, fees and attorneys (not to mention stress) and I have never gotten one single cent back. Next month, I will be taking him on my 8th revision... when will he stop?! Jonathan Lack is completely biased and he doesn't try to hide it - if you are in front of him, he might be polite and call you Mr. or Ms. but for me, he purposely calls me by my first name. On the very first Revision, his decision to give temp custody to my ex was REVERSED by a Judge... and after that, I never won another hearing. He's awful, abusive and should be removed so that he cannot harm another innocent child. I will be filing a grievance and if he has abused you, I hope you will too!

Litigant

Comment #: WA1285
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
I have a number of complaints!!! I don't know if he has too many cases or what but he confused what I asked for and then denied my request, when you try to point out the errors he ignores you, I think he has a serious anger management problem!

Prosecutor

Comment #: WA1284
Rating:1.0
Comments:
The truth, cold hard facts and evident is not applied to his decision making process. He sat behind his bench and stated that he didn't have any evident to support his decision but he was going to make one anyways and placed a restraining order against a totally innocent person. Only thing a person has to do is say I want a restraining order and he hands them out. The other person has rights, but not in his court. The individual asking for the order now has 5 restraining orders against 5 different individuals. She had a total of 7 in a two year time span. It's her deception of choice. Lack of common sense and he hasn't caught on to the clues yet.

Other

Comment #: WA1283
Rating:1.0
Comments:
In my opinion..HE FAVORS FEMALES!!and whoever puts on the best act and not based on factual evidence!! He granted my ex a protection order without an affidavit and extremely outlandish lies. He also, granted a divorce to her without me being served or present. Now I have to file my own lawsuit so I don't get screwed.... ;)

Other

Comment #: WA1165
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Jonathon Lack should be removed from the bench. He is prejudice against pro-se, racist, bias and sexist. He doesn't care about parents and children lives. He always takes the abusers side.

Other

Comment #: WA1150
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Not a real Judge, only a commissioner. Violates the law to suit his own whims at the expense of mothers and children. Rates a ZERO. Is a public hazard and is a liability for the State of Washington.

Litigant

Comment #: WA1097
Rating:10.0
Comments:
Has a calm and even temperament perfectly suited to his job

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: WA1088
Rating:1.7
Comments:
Eratic and scattered at times. Does not prepare for his docket. Tries to cover by being friendly. Highly skilled at driving a case to the outcome he wants. Dangerously biased.

Litigant

Comment #: WA1014
Rating:7.0
Comments:
I have had some issues with this Commissioner in the past. But last week I found some renewed respect for him. He granted me a protection order and I am grateful for that.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: WA1001
Rating:2.0
Comments:
Some judges are oblivious to the fact that some people will make false accusations to get custody. I was forced with trying to prove a negative, that I wasn't abusive. I've never hurt anyone in my life. I've never been charged with a crime, ever in my life. She has been arrested and convicted for dv against me in the past. I had multiple witnesses saying the allegations were most likely false based on how they judged our character, even said it sounded backwards from everything they witnessed between us. Regardless, Lack gave her full custody. I have been fighting for time with my two year old daughter that I raised, while she worked. I went to night classes and lived on disability and the GI Bill. She went back to work after one and a half months off, and I stayed home 14 hours a day taking care of my daughter for a year and a half. She still works like this while I am in school, and our daughter now just spends endless hours at daycare. This can't possibly be in her best interest. I use to think this sort of thing didn't happen in court and some form of justice was possible in these sort of cases. Not even close. I couldn't have been more wrong. I hope someday judges in family Court will be much more attentive to dishing out protection orders and look at the motive the person has for getting it in the first place. My life is basically ruined because a women with a history of domestic violence gamed the court. I'm in a world of financial hurt, but all I really care about is spending time with my daughter. I hope this judge will eventually see the type of person she really is, manipulative and willing to say and do anything to get custody. All I can say to guys is, document anything and everything if your relationship starts to go south. You are at an incredible disadvantage with this court system. Google, Thurston county paintings discrimination lawsuit. The county has lost cases of gender discrimination in the past. This makes me so sad for all the good dad's out there. Keep fighting, eventually, even if it is when your kids grow up, they will be able to make their own opinion. Because of how easily she did this, I really doubt it is an isolated incident. Who knows, maybe in 2016 when my case is done. The WA state judicial board of ethics might bring up another discrimination lawsuit...

Prosecutor

Comment #: WA995
Rating:1.0
Comments:
Some people want justice and the rule of law. Neither will be applied in his court.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: WA990
Rating:8.6
Comments:
Criticism of this judicial officer seems to be unfairly harsh. He is a very bright, compassionate and hard-working commissioner. He is excellent in many respects. I think his problem is certain types of litigants expect a certain inherent favoritism, and he is completely neutral. Some people don't want neutral.

Litigant

Comment #: WA949
Rating:10.0
Comments:
Very refreshing to be given ample time to state my case without interruption. Commissioner Lack gave both me and my ex productive suggestions on how to co parent; his thoughts were directed evenly between us both and I believe were out of genuine concern for our child. If it is possible to be completely impartial, I think commissioner Lack strives to come as close to this ideal as possible.

Prosecutor

Comment #: WA938
Rating:1.0
Comments:
I have watch Lack numerous times in court. The question I have is how did he ever get to be a commissioner. He makes off handed remarks that has nothing to do with the case and makes judgements based on his opinions and not the law. I agree with the opinion below that if he came from Hawaii then hopefully we can send him back. Thurston's court system is a out of control wreck that is hurting not only the trust poeple place in the judicial systems but people lives.

Other

Comment #: WA918
Rating:8.0
Comments:
I didn't get everything I asked for but at least he told me why, I feel like he was fair and overall the family court experience wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.

Litigant

Comment #: WA881
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Not vindictive like Indu Thomas, but clearly out of his depth and marking time. Question re both - how much did they pay, or 'donate' to acquire their seat in a judicial area requiring utmost sensitivity, competence, integrity and discretion.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: WA859
Rating:1.0
Comments:
This commissioner needs to read and then apply the law when it comes DV orders of protection. When it comes to legitimate claims of DV, as a society, we want courts to err on the side of caution to protect victims of alleged violence. However, to ensure that there is a modicum of protection for the rights of respondents who may themselves be victims of wrongful and vindictive allegations of DV, commissioners and judges should not throw out the statute with the bath water. Fear of imminent physical harm is considerably different than just "fear." Also, this commissioner needs to determine whether a DV program is state-certified based on the evidence presented rather than cavalierly declaring that the claimed DV program is not certified based upon his opinion that it is not, when in fact it is. This would save the parties a considerable amount in attorneys fees for a motion to revise or in an appeal.

Other

Comment #: WA798
Rating:1.0
Comments:
Up until 9-24 14 I questioned the ability of this person. After what he did for Patrick Rawnsley in a DVPO hearing in favor of his sociopath client I say this guy needs to go back to HI or grow a set of balls. I am so sick of him saying to lawyers "What do you want me to do to make you both happy". Its not his job to make some party happy. ITS HIS JOB TO FOLLOW THE LAW