Get to Know the Candidates
All candidates for Cowlitz County Superior Court soon to be vacant Department 4 were invited to submit statements for this guide. We hope it is a useful tool for getting to know the candidates before you participate in CWBA Judicial Preference Poll.
A judicial preference ball will be distributed to all current CWBA attorney members, sitting judges and Commissioners on July 18, 2025. If you are not sure about your membership status, please reach out to cowwahbar@gmail.com.
Please be advised that CWBA does not endorse or support any particular candidate.
Judicial Candidate Statement: Chelsea Baldwin
Superior Court Commissioner | Attorney | Community Leader
I bring a broad and diverse range of experience to the bench - experience that spans judicial service, complex litigation, small business leadership, and community engagement
I serve as a Superior Court Commissioner in Cowlitz County, presiding over dockets in dependency, criminal matters, and civil matters. I handle high-conflict/highvolume calendars with a focus on efficiency, accessibility, and plain-language decision-making. My role requires daily decisions that affect public safety, children, and families - and I take that responsibility seriously.
As a litigator, I have handled civil and criminal matters, landlord/tenant disputes, family law, and public agency contracts, including work with the City of Longview prosecutor’s office. I now run a boutique firm while serving on the bench, bringing real-world insight into the challenges attorneys and litigants face - especially in rural counties like ours.
I led reforms in Cowlitz County’s dependency system, collaborated with stakeholders to streamline appointment of counsel, ensuring timely hearings and trials with logical procedures. These efforts ensured not only compliance with the law but also streamlined operations for attorneys, case workers, and judges alike.
In every setting, my goal is to ensure a collaborative, grounded approach. I have taught CLEs, worked closely with pro se litigants, and volunteered extensively in the community - including with Cowlitz County Search and Rescue as an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) and senior coordinator, as a board member of my children’s school and as a coach in youth sports. I am proud to bridge the gaps between courtroom, community, and practical legal service.
My diverse experience as a judge, litigator, and firm owner uniquely equips me to serve our community with integrity, perspective, and grit. I understand both the legal system and the human beings behind it. I value fairness, clarity, and respect for all courtroom participants.
Thank you for your consideration. I would be honored to earn your support.
Judicial Candidate Statement: Eric Bentson
For the last 18½ years, I have worked in the Cowlitz County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, appearing on a regular basis in Cowlitz County Superior Court. Recently, after turning 50, I submitted an application to the governor’s office to become a Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge. For those who are unacquainted with me, I wanted to share my perspective.
Longview is my home. All four of my children were born here, and my wife Melissa and I expect to live here for the rest of our lives. I have volunteered as a baseball coach, AWANA leader, and elder at church. My children are all actively involved in youth sports, and my wife is a math teacher. I know this community because I am a part of it.
My prior experience as a military officer taught me the importance of leadership and professionalism. This background has been especially helpful in my work as the Chief Criminal Deputy of the Cowlitz County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, where I have prosecuted criminal cases for nearly two decades. Leadership positions are held to serve others. A judge’s role is to serve the parties, while also considering the impact of decisions on the community.
Jury trials have given me an understanding of the demands of litigation. I have tried well over a hundred jury trials to verdict in Cowlitz County, including several aggravated murders. During trial, attorneys are under tremendous stress. Despite this practical reality, going to trial has given me greater respect for both my opponents and the judges who presided. It is my sincere hope that those I have faced in trial believe I have treated them with courtesy and respect. As a judge, I will have no agenda other than to give the parties a fair trial in a professional environment. This does not happen everywhere, but it should happen here.
Thousands of charging decisions many of which resulted in declining charges have sharpened my ability to evaluate evidence and apply the law. Outside of my office, few are aware of the many conversations I have had with those involved before making these decisions. The best judges discern the truth of what is before them by carefully listening and thinking. I will strive to apply evidence standards correctly and consider all circumstances when rendering a decision.
In addition to prosecuting criminal cases, I have also written over a hundred appellate briefs. I have successfully argued several cases in person before the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. This has required me to understand the law and communicate this understanding with precision. My approach to researching and applying the law should give anyone who appears before me confidence that arguments correctly supported by legal authority will prevail.
Just as prosecutors do, I understand that judges must make extremely difficult decisions. As a prosecutor, I have worked hard to make the right decisions. If given the opportunity, I will work hard to make the right decisions as a judge.
Thank you, Eric Bentson
Judicial Candidate Statement: Jamie Foster
Legal Experience
Current Senior Public Defense Attorney at Cowlitz County Office of Public Defense. Former business owner Jamie M. Foster, Attorney at Law. Cowlitz County Court Superior Court Commissioner and Cowlitz County District Court Judge Pro Tem. Licensed in Washington state since 2011.
Education
J.D., Willamette University College of Law.
B.S., Biology Eastern Washington University
B.A.E., Eastern Washington University
Community Service
Supervisory Committee Fibre Federal Credit Union, Board Member Cowlitz Wahkiakum Legal Aid, President and Board Member Cowlitz County Bar Association, Advisory Member Cowlitz County United Way Board, and President and Board Member Castle Rock Toutle Lake Youth Baseball.
Statement
Jamie Foster is a wife and a mother and has spent her legal career in Cowlitz County since admission to the Bar Association in 2011. She worked for over a decade in private practice in domestic and juvenile law as well as a Court Commissioner and Judge Pro Tem. As a lawyer she has demonstrated her passion for the law, her dedicated service to the community, and ensuring her clients navigate the legal system with a strong advocate. In her current role Jamie continues to provide strong advocacy representing indigent clients in the criminal justice system. Jamie has prepared for a Judicial position through practice in every area of law including domestic, dependency, civil, juvenile, and criminal cases. She will excel as a judicial officer because she is well versed in multi-disciplinary legal issues and has a desire to work for the people of Cowlitz County as a fair and unbiased Judge.
Judicial Candidate Statement: Phillip Hatfield
My name is Phillip Hatfield, and I have applied for the current superior court vacancy in Cowlitz County. I am currently an administrative law judge with the Washington State Office of Administrative Hearings. I live in Longview with my wife, Ling-chun Connie Liao, and daughter, Ayn Mu-ning Hatfield.
I studied philosophy at the University of Notre Dame and the University of Illinois and law at the Indiana University School of Law and the University of Cambridge. I also have a Master of Business Administration from the Keller School of Business of Devry University.
I clerked for Indiana Supreme Court Justice Roger DeBruler from 1994 to 1996 and have worked for a dozen different government agencies, including the Office of the Attorney General of the State of Indiana, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Cowlitz County Office of Public Defense. The last U.S. agency that I worked for was the Small Business Administration, but I am now retired from federal service. I spent 1999 to 2000 as a full-time member of the faculty of University of Oregon School of Law.
I enlisted in the Army Reserve in 1981 in the Military Police Corps. I was commissioned as a Corps of Engineers officer in 1985, was mobilized to U.S. European Command in 2005, deployed to Iraq in 2009, and retired as a lieutenant colonel in 2013.
Judicial Candidate Statement: Jill Karmy
I am honored to seek appointment as a judge for the Cowlitz County Superior Court. With over 21 years of diverse legal experience as a court commissioner, civil attorney, public defender, and prosecutor, I have devoted my career to serving the community and promoting justice with fairness, compassion, and a deep respect for the rule of law.
In 2022, I was appointed as a court commissioner to preside over civil non-jury trials and serve in pro-tem capacities. Since September 2023, I have served as the court’s three-quarter-time commissioner, handling a wide array of dockets including civil protection orders, involuntary treatment (ITA) hearings, juvenile offender matters, probate, guardianships, civil dockets, unlawful detainers, and domestic cases, along with additional dockets as needed.
My legal career began in the field of workers' compensation, representing self-insured employers in claims and workplace safety matters. In 2007, I began practicing in Cowlitz County, joining the firm then known as Springer, Norman and Workman, where I primarily represented injured workers. The firm later became Parham, Hall & Karmy and is now Parham, Hall & Staples. In 2015, I established a solo practice and have continued to represent Cowlitz County residents and small businesses in workers’ compensation and employment litigation. I have guided cases through every stage from administrative hearings and jury trials to appellate review, including a unanimous 9-0 decision from the Washington Supreme Court in my client’s favor.
My public service has included work as both a public defender and, since June 2022, as a municipal court prosecutor for Battle Ground. I have stood alongside the accused in some of their most difficult moments; I have supported victims through the trauma of testifying against their perpetrators; I have collaborated with law enforcement on challenging cases. These experiences have deepened my belief in a criminal justice system that holds individuals accountable while also addressing root causes of criminal behavior, reducing recidivism, and improving community safety.
I have also served the legal profession through volunteer leadership with the Washington State Bar Association. In 2014, I was elected to the WSBA Board of Governors by attorneys in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, covering Clark, Cowlitz, and Lewis counties. I later served as the WSBA Treasurer during the 2016–2017 fiscal year. Whether acting as a court commissioner, civil attorney, public defender, or prosecutor, I have consistently worked to ensure that every individual is treated with dignity and respect. If appointed, I will work collaboratively with all justice system stakeholders to increase trust and confidence in the judiciary.
It would be a privilege to continue serving the people of Cowlitz County as a full-time judge.
Judicial Candidate Statement: Jeffrey Keddie
As legal aid attorney for the past fifteen years, I have developed a strong understanding of the challenges most people face in the legal system. As a litigator, I have supported hundreds of people through resolution of family law, housing, consumer, public benefits, and civil rights cases in state, federal, and administrative proceedings.
As a former pro tempore Commissioner/Judge in Cowlitz and Clark County District and Superior Courts with hundreds of hours on the bench in civil and criminal cases, I made informed and fair decisions consistent with the law and treated all parties with respect and kindness.
As a Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge, I would build relationships with attorneys and community organizations to improve court services, develop resources and systems to help litigants understand the court process and rulings through use of plain language communication, and continue to support alternatives to the traditional court model such as therapeutic courts.