Washington Temporary Judges, Amendment 80 (1987)

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Amendments

The Washington Temporary Judges Amendment, numbered as Amendment 80, was on the November 3, 1987 ballot in the State of Washington as a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment, where it was approved.

Amendment 80 altered Section 7 of Article IV of the Washington State Constitution.

Election results

Amendment 80
Result		Votes	Percentage
a Yes		495,273	58.84%
No		346,428	41.16%

The question asked on the ballot was "Shall the constitution empower superior court judges, after retirement, to complete pending cases in which they had made discretionary rulings?"

Before Amendment 80

Before Amendment 80 was enacted in 1987, Section 7 of Article IV said:

"EXCHANGE OF JUDGES - JUDGE PRO TEMPORE - The judge of any superior court may hold a superior court in any county at the request of the judge of the superior court thereof, and upon the request of the governor it shall be his duty to do so. A case in the superior court may be tried by a judge, pro tempore, who must be a member of the bar, agreed upon in writing by the parties litigant, or their attorneys of record, approved by the court and sworn to try the case."

Amendment 80

Once Amendment 80 was enacted in 1987, Section 7 of Article IV said:

"Exchange of Judges - Judge Pro Tempore. The judge of any superior court may hold a superior court in any county at the request of the judge of the superior court thereof, and upon the request of the governor it shall be his duty to do so. A case in the superior court may be tried by a judge, pro tempore, who must be a member of the bar, agreed upon in writing by the parties litigant, or their attorneys of record, approved by the court and sworn to try the case. However, if a previously elected judge of the superior court retires leaving a pending case in which the judge has made discretionary rulings, the judge is entitled to hear the pending case as a judge pro tempore without any written agreement."

After Amendment 80

Section 7 of Article IV was amended again in 2001, with Amendment 94. After Amendment 94 was enacted, Section 7 says:

"Exchange of Judges - Judge Pro Tempore. The judge of any superior court may hold a superior court in any county at the request of the judge of the superior court thereof, and upon the request of the governor it shall be his or her duty to do so. A case in the superior court may be tried by a judge pro tempore either with the agreement of the parties if the judge pro tempore is a member of the bar, is agreed upon in writing by the parties litigant or their attorneys of record, and is approved by the court and sworn to try the case; or without the agreement of the parties if the judge pro tempore is a sitting elected judge and is acting as a judge pro tempore pursuant to supreme court rule. The supreme court rule must require assignments of judges pro tempore based on the judges' experience and must provide for the right, exercisable once during a case, to a change of judge pro tempore. Such right shall be in addition to any other right provided by law. However, if a previously elected judge of the superior court retires leaving a pending case in which the judge has made discretionary rulings, the judge is entitled to hear the pending case as a judge pro tempore without any written agreement."

See also

• Ballot measures in the State of Washington about judicial reform
• List of Washington ballot measures
• 1987 ballot measures
• Washington 1987 ballot measures

Suggest a link

External links

• State of Washington 1987 ballot measure election results
• Washington State Constitution
• Washington 1987 Voter Guide

References

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