Tri-Cities judge refuses to step down in light of allegations. Harassment investigation complete
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Accused Tri-Cities judge
Superior Court Judge Sam Swanberg is accused of assaulting his ex-wife and harassing an ex-girlfriend. Check in with the Tri-City Herald as we report the latest on the story.
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A Tri-Cities Superior Court judge is refusing to step down amid abuse allegations by his ex-wife and an anti-harassment order obtained by his former girlfriend.
On Friday, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that their investigation into the harassment complaint was finished and sent to prosecutors to review. No decision has been released on the issue.
Thursday, Benton-Franklin Superior Court Judge Sam Swanberg issued a statement to the Tri-City Herald and other news media through his attorney, Scott Johnson, continuing to dispute claims made by his former spouse, Stephanie Barnard. The two divorced in April 2021.
Swanberg’s statement was a response to an opinion piece this week by the Herald’s Editorial Board calling on Swanberg, 55, to step down because his behavior toward ex-girlfriend Sila Salas has cast doubts about his judgment and shattered his credibility. The Editorial Board is not involved in news reporting.
Barnard’s claims of abuse during the couple’s 33-year marriage were filed as supporting documentation as part of a case brought by the judge’s ex-girlfriend in her request for a no-contact order.
His ex-girlfriend, Salas, 24, is a Benton County employee who says Swanberg made repeated attempts by phone, text and visits to her home and work in the month after their breakup despite her insistence that they were done.
Last week, a Spokane County judge entered a 1-year no-contact order.
Swanberg claims he is being unfairly tried in the media based solely on claims made by his ex-wife and a former girlfriend.
He was on leave after Salas filed the civil action in December but is able to return to the bench under the court order. The order states that he must keep 25 feet away from where Salas works in the public defense office in the justice center in Kennewick.
Sheriff’s investigation
Salas wrote in her civil complaint that she reported Swanberg’s alleged behavior and actions to the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, which opened an investigation.
Sheriff’s Lt. Jason Erickson told the Herald Friday that the harassment investigation has been referred to the Benton County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutor Andy Miller said the report had been received and would have to be forwarded to a prosecutor outside of Benton and Franklin counties, who does not appear before Swanberg. That prosecutor will then determine what, if any, action should be taken.
It is not known if Salas also filed a complaint with the Washington state Commission on Judicial Conduct, since the board — which investigates allegations of ethical misconduct and abuse of authority — does not discuss its cases in the early stages of review.
Swanberg is one of seven Superior Court judges and three court commissioners who handle civil and felony criminal cases, divorces, paternity and custody issues in the two counties.
Abuse allegations
Barnard’s claims of abuse were filed as part of Salas’ case for a no-contact order and to surrender his guns based on his alleged history of suicide threats and abusive pattern that he adamantly denies.
Barnard’s document says she decided to come forward when she saw what she believed to be a pattern.
But in his statement, Swanberg’s attorney likened the situation to those of Supreme Court justices who have been accused of sexual assault during and after their confirmation hearings.
“Both United States Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh faced allegations of misconduct. Unlike in this case, those allegations were thoroughly investigated, and both were confirmed and currently serve as United States Supreme Court Justices.”
“In Judge Swanberg’s case, there hasn’t even been an investigation into the allegations,” he wrote. “For anyone to suggest that Judge Swanberg should resign based on unsupported and uninvestigated allegations is contrary to the very foundation of American justice. Judge Swanberg’s resignation would be an admission by him that he did those things he is accused of. Because he did not do any of those things, he will not resign, and he will continue to serve the people of Benton and Franklin Counties.”
Conflicting accounts
At the center of the disputed allegations is a series of incidents that took place over the course of a day in early February 2021.
After the editorial was published, Johnson sent over a video that he said shows a confrontation between Barnard and Swanberg. He said this was the first incident that day and allegedly shows that Barnard was the aggressor.
The 13-second video in question appeared to show Swanberg and Barnard arguing at a storage unit. In the video she attempts to knock Swanberg’s phone out of his hand as he is filming her.
In the video Swanberg makes a comment about his golf clubs. He can be heard saying “now she’s hitting me” to which Barnard responds, “I’m not hitting you.” It is unclear what sparked the confrontation.
Johnson said the video has not been edited or cut down, and told the Herald that the incident at the storage facility happened around lunchtime, and was followed later in the day by a conflict at their shared home where Swanberg was staying in a separate room.
Johnson said that following another argument that day, Barnard had thrown protein powder on Swanberg as he was trying to gather items to leave the house.
After changing, Johnson said Swanberg claims Barnard was attempting to stop him from leaving, physically blocking his way, which led to the photos appearing to show him dragging her.
The photographs provided, and a partial account of the incident, were described in an article published on Jan. 12.
Johnson also sent text messages of partial conversations between Swanberg and his friend and former attorney, John Jensen, who had to step aside from the case after being named in Barnard’s documents.
In the messages, Swanberg is asking Jensen to come pick him up, but does not go into details of the confrontation before sending Jensen the photo of him covered in protein powder.
In her court filing, Barnard included a picture of a bruise on her knee from the dragging incident, dated Feb. 11, 2021. Johnson said that photo is from an unrelated instance in 2008 when Barnard hurt herself. Carlisle said the photo is “clearly timestamped in 2021.”
Johnson said that Swanberg did not file a police report after the confrontations with his wife.
On Friday, Karla Carlisle, the managing attorney with the Northwest Justice Project who represents both Barnard and Salas, declined to comment on the video or Swanberg’s description of the incidents.
“We have no intention to try this in the media,” she said.
Reaction
Johnson claims that the declaration Barnard filed was irrelevant to the court case, and done at the urging of an “attorney friend” of Barnard’s in order to be used as “click bait by the media.”
“The allegations in the declaration filed by Ms. Barnard are false. Judge Swanberg has never abused his wife. Sadly, based on nothing more than the declaration of an aggrieved spouse, the media has decided to publish stories about the false allegations without ever examining if the allegations are true,” Johnson wrote.
“Had the media done their part, they would have found that in 33 years of marriage and six children, there were never any police reports filed by Ms. Barnard alleging abuse,” Johnson continued.
“They would have found that Ms. Barnard publicly and enthusiastically supported Judge Swanberg for leadership roles in their church. They would have found that Ms. Barnard was the driving force in having Judge Swanberg appointed and then elected to be a Superior Court Judge.”
“They would have found that Judge Swanberg was thoroughly investigated prior to being appointed judge. Had the media done its job, they would have been able to see that the above information does not square with the allegations made in the declaration.”
Barnard’s 12-page filing accused her ex-husband of having “a rage problem,” accusing him of narcissistic, physical and verbal abuse over the course of their entire relationship.
Johnson said that the photos, video, text message exchanges and Barnard’s previous support of her husband are at odds with her claims that she was abused.
“It is hard to square this with the fact that, if you believe what she’s saying, that she was physically abused for 33 years,” Johnson said. “I don’t know many people who would live in that situation that would try to actively put an abuser in a position of power.”
Additionally, the exchanges included a portion of a conversation between Swanberg and one of his daughters that allude to arguments, but do not offer specifics.
Previously, Barnard’s lawyer, Carlisle, said the timing of the documents Barnard filed came as an attempt to meet a court-ordered deadline for a decision on whether or not Swanberg would have to surrender weapons as part of Salas’ request.
This story was originally published January 14, 2022 at 6:39 PM.
