Terry Tanner

After his second DUI arrest, the Washington State Supreme Court formally censured Judge Terry Tanner and handed him a 30-day unpaid suspension. As additional conditions, Tanner was required to maintain total sobriety for the remainder of his term, submit to mandatory alcohol monitoring, and recuse himself from all DUI cases going forward. The Benton County prosecutor had publicly called for his resignation, arguing that a judge with two DUIs had forfeited the moral authority to hold office - which, indeed, is painstakingly obvious. Brazenly, Tanner refused to resign.

Despite crashing his car drunk, lying to police, and doing so as a sitting judge who presides over the very cases his conduct mirrors, he kept his job. A month without pay was the mere pittance he paid for a second offense that would have ended the career of a police officer, a teacher, a social worker, or virtually any other public servant. Many careers would not have even survived the first DUI - and he knows that better than anyone. The message to the public is clear: judges play by different rules.

As the prosecutor pointed out - the idea that this guy is capable of any judgment worth respecting is obscene. This whole affair is a terrible smear on the State of Washington, which clearly has a corrupted judiciary at every level.

Benton County District Judge Terry Tanner was arrested on January 2, 2023 for driving under the influence — his second DUI. His BAC measured 0.22-0.23, nearly three times the legal limit. Tanner crashed his vehicle and then lied to responding officers, denying he was the driver.

Let's say that again: Tanner lied to the officers and denied he was the driver after he drunkenly crashed his car. He could have killed someone - and there is no indication that he even cares.

This was not a lapse in judgment — it is a pattern. Tanner had already received a formal reprimand from the Washington Commission on Judicial Conduct for a prior DUI in 2018. That reprimand was his warning. He ignored it. This is a judge who routinely presides over DUI cases — cases where defendants face job/career loss, license suspension, and incarceration. He knows better than anyone what the stakes are. He chose to drink and drive anyway, twice, and then lied to police at the scene. The hypocrisy is staggering, and the damage to public trust in the judiciary is severe.