Hon. Michael T. Downes See Rating Details
Judge
Superior Court
Snohomish County
See Comments

Attorney Average Rating:   2.9 - 8 rating(s)
Non-Attorney Average Rating:   3.0 - 2 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. Michael T. Downes


Comments


Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: WA1808
Rating:1.0
Comments:
Long time client asked about Judge Downes last week. He was thrilled to learn that he retired. No less thrilled than I was to learn about Judge Downes retiring. On the good new side, Governor Inslee is replacing the older "bad" judges with younger more thoughtful judges, without big egos.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: WA1595
Rating:1.0
Comments:
Thank God that he is no longer on the bench. I haven't been in Sno County for quite a while and I was thrilled to see that he has retired. I agree with the comments on Snohomish County being the sewer of the legal system, but with this retirement, matters are looking up.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: WA1092
Rating:1.0
Comments:
Unnecessarily rude to most of the people that were in front of him the day I was in this court. Nasty. I am from out of SnohoCo, so expected that. But I brought him a settled case which was set for a lenghty trial. He treated he as if I had kicked the Pope.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: WA674
Rating:1.3
Comments:
Judge Downes is one of the most unfair public servants to date. There was no due process -- my attorney was shut down when he went to argue my case regarding my ex-wife and youngest son. Neither my ex-wife nor her attorney were present, yet I still lost the case and did not have a chance to face my accusers. What an unbalanced set of scales Judge Downes holds!

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: WA629
Rating:1.3
Comments:
Thank you, Court of Appeals, for reversing this pompous judge in Walker v. Quality Loan Svc. His holier-than-thou attitude has cost me attorneys' fees in other matters, and those actions are now costing another party more attorneys' fees. When will the residents of Snohomish County get smart and get judges on the bench that understand and follow the law? The Snohomish County Commissioners are a well-known joke amongst members of the bar.

Litigant

Comment #: WA501
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Judge Downes, is grossly unfair. I fly from California and had an attorney present and my x-wife wasn't there nor her Attorney and the Judge wouldn't even allow my attorney to state his argument and would make eye contact with me until he took my rights away to see my youngest son based off of false reports from my son, some lady in the church saying I was in WA stalking her while I was actually with my parents in their Home in California. He is totally unfair and as a result I lost the rights to see my son which has nothing to do with the issues with my x-wife. I will return when I get money and fight for my fatherly rights.

Litigant

Comment #: WA460
Rating:6.0
Comments:
I had him as a judge yesterday, I'm writing this before a decision is made so i hope it will be more fair of an opinion, he was very considerate to his staff checking with them to see of they needed breaks, unlike mentioned in the first text. I was a pro se litigant so I had to take my lashings, but I expected that, I don't know what I'm doing! All and all I felt like he was a fair judge no matter the outcome.

Litigant

Comment #: WA317
Rating:1.0
Comments:
His temper is appauling. Raises his voice and flies off the handle when he gets irritated. He treats his courtroom staff with zero regard, often keeping them through the lunch hour and after working hours.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: WA141
Rating:2.6
Comments:
Judge Downes appears to hold vendettas against out of county counsel. I prevailed, but the lack of respect I received was apalling. Snohomish County is known to be as bad as Pierce County in terms of "hometowning." Its too bad, if Judge Downes were to treat counsel even-handed, if would probably be a great Judge. He appears to be bright, just not even-handed.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: WA20
Rating:9.6
Comments:
Everything both sides could ask for: fair, careful, efficient, firmly in control and happy in his own skin. No ego-stroking behavior.