If King County Superior Court Judge Jim Bates is lucky, the Washington Supreme Court will allow him to take a 30-day suspension and undergo sensitivity training to settle allegations of improper behavior.

If King County Superior Court Judge Jim Bates is lucky, the Washington Supreme Court will allow him to take a 30-day suspension and undergo sensitivity training to settle allegations of improper behavior.

It was those allegations - which included making crude sexual remarks to female co-workers, sending a graphic article through the office mail and making sexual comments about murder victims' autopsy photos - that derailed his candidacy for the state Supreme Court in1998.

The Supreme Court justices could throw out the suspension negotiated with the state Commission on Judicial Conduct. Or they could impose a different penalty, even a harsher one. That happened in the case of Pierce County Superior Court Judge Grant Anderson; the CJC had recommended a four-month suspension for financial improprieties, but the Supreme Court opted to remove him from the bench.

The improprities Bates has admitted to happened at least nine years ago, but he was less than truthful about them when first confronted during the 1998 campaign. If he runs for re-election next year, King County voters would be entitled to render a far harsher verdict on his conduct.