Last week the Clark County Board of County Councilors appointed attorney Chad E. Sleight to the Clark County District Court bench.
Sleight was one of four candidates vying for the court’s Position 2 that the council interviewed.
Sleight will take over when Judge James P. Swanger retires March 1. Sleight won’t have much time to relax though. The seat is up for election this fall.
“Chad is very connected to the people in front of him and accepting of change in the future. He’s passionate and knows a good deal about the therapeutic courts and is accepting that there may be change even with that,” said Council Chair Marc Boldt.
“Pointing to Sleight’s varied courtroom experience and passion for the law, the council voted unanimously to appoint him to succeed Judge Swanger,” stated a press release from the county council.
Sleight lives in Camas and has been a pro tem judge in District Court for four years.
Sleight has been in practice since 2002. During that time, he’s primarily worked in criminal law as a defense attorney and prosecutor in North Clark County for Battle Ground, Ridgefield and La Center.
In 2016, Sleight was elected president of the 472-member Clark County Bar Association.
Sleight’s education includes a law degree from Willamette University College of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Western Washington University.
Judge Swanger spent 16 years on the District Court bench. Leading up to this, Swanger served as a District Court commissioner, judge pro-tem in Clark County Superior Court and Battle Ground Municipal Court, a deputy prosecuting attorney and a private practice attorney.
