Two candidates running for Spokane County District Court Judge Position 4 disagree sharply over whether judges should use artificial intelligence on the bench. Nicholas Ulrich, an attorney with the Washington Attorney General’s office, argues that AI has no place in decisions affecting people’s lives and liberty and emphasizes empathy as central to judicial decision-making. His opponent, Cheney prosecutor and business law professor Michael R. Addams, counters that avoiding the technology entirely is shortsighted and risks obsolescence, arguing that responsible AI use for research and outlining is simply efficient, while stressing fairness and firm accountability. The dispute, reported by The Spokesman-Review on October 7, 2026, illustrates how the proper role of AI in judicial decision-making has become a live issue in local judicial elections.
