Judge J. Robin Hunt was elected to the Court of Appeals in November, 1996 and took office in January, 1997. Since that time, Judge Hunt authored hundreds of majority opinions and dissents. She has frequently arranged to hold court in local schools of Division Two's counties to promote greater understanding of the appellate process. She provides case summaries and advance notice to the local press to encourage public attendance. In the past year she has arranged for TVW up from Olympia to record the court's oral arguments in Tacoma for broadcast on local public cable television. For the past several years, she has supervised extern law students who receive credit for assisting with the court's growing workload at no additional cost to the taxpayers. She also co-chairs a pilot project to produce and to present summaries of oral argument cases on the court's website.
The oldest of four children, Judge Hunt was born in Massachusetts and raised in Corning, New York; Pennsylvania; and North Carolina. Her father worked for Corning Glass and her mother was a church organist. Judge Hunt graduated from Smith College in 1970, with a major in music, and from Wayne State University Law School in 1973, cum laude. She worked her way through law school clerking for the Detroit Public Defender and then Washington Attorney General Slade Gorton, in the education division In Olympia. After graduating, she clerked for the Hon. Cornelia G. Kennedy, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (1973-1974).
Judge Hunt began the private practice of law with a litigation firm in Fairbanks, Alaska (1974-1975). She then worked as a contract attorney for Foster Pepper in Seattle. In 1975, newly elected King County Prosecutor Chris Bayley hired her as a deputy prosecutor in the criminal division, where she continued to serve until 1983 under the late Norm Maleng. As part of her training, she rode with law enforcement. She tried all types of crimes, from DUI to capital murder. As senior deputy, she created a specialized appellate unit, arguing numerous cases in state and federal appellate courts. Thereafter, Judge Hunt served as Bainbridge Island Municipal Court Judge Pro Tern (1982-1993) and Hearing Examiner (1985-1996), adjudicating local land use issues and administrative appeals.
Judge Hunt has taught seminars for the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys and the W.S.T.L.A. People's Law School for lay persons. She also lectured and studied Chinese language and law at the East China Law Institute in Shanghai. She has served on State Bar and Washington Women Lawyers Judicial Evaluation Committees and as Trustee/Treasurer for the Seattle-King County Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. She frequently teaches ethics seminars to help local lawyers’ associations raise funds to support volunteer legal services and alternative dispute resolution. She frequently presents educational programs about our judicial system for public schools and community groups. She has also coached 4-H and middle school mock trial teams. In 2006 Judge Hunt received the Kitsap County Bar Association President’s Award for her efforts to promote Law Day public education. She also serves on the UW Fetal Alcohol Syndrome/Effect Legal Issue Resources Center judicial task force. In March 2008 she participated on a mental health court panel as part of the Northwest Regional Special Needs Conference at St. Martin's University in Lacey.
A Kitsap County resident since 1975, Judge Hunt is married to retired Navy Chief Art Schmidt. They have two grown sons. She has been active in local public schools, has served on the school board and Multicultural Advisory Council, and, assisted by the local police, co-chaired a mayoral task force to repel an extremist group threatening persons of color in her community. She performed with the Bainbridge Chorale for 20 years and local community theater. She enjoys hiking, kayaking, swimming, Curves, adventure travel, and singing with Bremerton’s Awesome Praise gospel choir and the MLK Community Choir, for which she received a special award in February 2008.