Nigeria’s Okoloko Emerges Top Superior Court Judge In U.S.

Edirin Okoloko, a judge of the Snohomish County Su­perior Court in Washington DC, USA, has emerged as the overall best in a mem­bers rating conducted by the Snohomish County Bar Association.

Okoloko from Delta State came ahead of six other judges with an average re­sult of 4.12 in a statement by the Snohomish County Bar members’ newsletter.

The release read, “In­troducing our top two Su­perior Court judges per member ratings in 2021. Judge Langbehn and Judge Okoloko.

“Those pictured here had the highest averages. An honourable mention also goes out to our high­est scoring commissioner, Patricia Nelson. A special thank you to the fearless SCBA board for tabulating these results”.

Okoloko’s results are as follows: Decision making average, 4.03, median 4.00; Efficiency average 3.81, median 4.00; Demeanour average 4.47, median 5.00; Impartiality average 4.15, median 5.00. Overall perfor­mance average 4.12 median 4.00.

Judge Okoloko was ap­pointed by Governor Jay In­slee to fill a vacant seat on Snohomish County Superi­or Court bench in January 2020 after the retirement of Judge Linda C. Krese.

The governor previous­ly appointed Okoloko to the Snohomish County Supe­rior Court in September 2018 and he took office in October. He lost a close re­tention election in Novem­ber 2019.

Prior to his judicial ser­vice, Okoloko served for 13 years as a Snohomish County Deputy Prosecut­ing Attorney, where he prosecuted cases involving homicides, sexual assaults, child abuse, elder abuse, and other violent and prop­erty related crimes.

He also represented the office on the Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team, which investigates county wide incidents involving law enforcement use of lethal force.

Before working as a pros­ecutor, Okoloko served as a judicial law clerk for for­mer Snohomish County Su­perior Court Judge Michael Downes.

“For over a year, Edirin excelled on the bench and earned the respect of so many people in the Sno­homish County Superior Court: his judicial bench mates, the court staff, and the litigants and attorneys who appeared before him. He is not through serving his community, and I look forward to him continuing his service on the court for years to come”, Governor Inslee said.