Judges
Judge Brett Buckley
Judge Buckley is currently Presiding Judge at Thurston County District Court. He also serves as presiding judge for Thurston County Mental Health Court and Thurston County Veterans Court. He was a faculty member of the Washington State Judicial College. He was a two-term member of the District and Municipal Court Judges’ Association (DMCJA) Board and is former chair of the DMCJA Legislative Committee. He served as a member of the Board for Judicial Administration (BJA) Court Security Committee and served on the Thurston County Domestic Violence Judicial Task Force as well as having served as co-chair of the Thurston County Court Security Committee.
Judge Buckley is a Commandant’s List graduate of the Judge Advocate General’s School and has served as Trial and Senior Defense Counsel in the US Army. He received his A.B., cum laude, from Bowdoin College, and his J.D. from the Northwestern School of Law.
In 2019, Judge Buckley was named Outstanding Judge of the Year by the Washington State Bar Association. He was selected as “2008 Judge of the Year” by the Misdemeanant Corrections Association and received the President’s Award from DMCJA in 2009.
Judge Sam Meyer
Sam Meyer was first elected to the bench in November of 2008. Judge Meyer, a fourth generation resident of Thurston County, graduated from Olympia High school in 1980. He completed his undergraduate work at Seattle University in 1984 and his law degree from Seattle University School of Law in 1995.
Judge Meyer worked as a law clerk for Justice Gerry Alexander at the Washington State Supreme Court in 1995-1996. From 1996 through 2004, he maintained a general private practice of law in which he handled all manner of cases. From January of 2005 until election to the bench, Judge Meyer was a defense attorney at Thurston County Public Defense. Judge Meyer served as president of the District and Municipal Court Judges Association in 2019-2020.
Judge Kalo Wilcox
Judge Wilcox has served on the District Court since 2011. Judge Wilcox is a faculty member of the Washington State Judicial College and a member of the Education Committee for the District & Municipal Court Judges’ Association.
Judge Wilcox is a guest speaker at Saint Martin’s University, the New Market Skills Center, and taught “Street Law” at local Thurston County high schools. Judge Wilcox is a board member with the Thurston County Food Bank and served on the Thurston County Dispute Resolution Center Board.
Judge Wilcox’s career has been in public service. She served as a Prosecuting Attorney for the City of Olympia and a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for both the King County and Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney’s Offices. Additionally, she served as an Assistant Attorney General with the Washington State Attorney General’s Office.
Judge Wilcox served as President of the Thurston County Bar Association and is a recipient of the Outstanding Service Award from the Washington State Association of Municipal Attorneys.
Judge Wilcox received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Puget Sound and her Juris Doctorate from Willamette University College of Law.
Commissioner Paul Wohl
Paul Wohl was appointed as Court Commissioner to the Thurston County District Court bench by the judges of the District Court in August of 2013. Before his appointment, Commissioner Wohl practiced law in Thurston, Pierce and King Counties for 22 years. Commissioner Wohl was a Prosecutor for the City of Olympia for 14 years. He has also served as a deputy prosecutor with the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and was the Prosecuting Attorney for the City of Federal Way. He began his career as a public defender in King County.
Commissioner Wohl received his law degree from the Seattle University School of Law in 1991. He did his undergraduate work at the University of Washington, receiving a BA in 1988, and was commissioned as an officer in the U. S. Army. Commissioner Wohl served on the board of directors of the Washington State Association of Municipal Attorneys and received that organization’s Outstanding Service award. Commissioner Wohl teaches "Street Law" at his alma mater, Timberline High School. He served two terms as a member of the Board of Judicial Administration’s Public Trust and Confidence Committee and is currently serving as the legislative chair for the DMCJA.
