Gerry Alexander to leave WA Supreme Court

December 21, 2011

Washington: Justice Gerry Alexander is stepping down from the Washington Supreme Court at the end of the year. He had one year remaining in his term, but has reached the mandatory retirement age of 75. Alexander is the longest serving judge in the state, after 38 years on trial and appellate courts. He was appointed to the Thurston-Mason County Superior Court by Governor Dan Evans in 1973. In 1985, he became a judge on the Washington Court of Appeals and served there until joining the Supreme Court in 1994. He plans to join the Olympia law firm of Bean, Gentry, Wheeler & Peternell, PPLC upon leaving the court.

Alexander heard more than 2,300 oral arguments and wrote some 400 opinions in his time on the Supreme Court. He is known as a moderate voice on the court and was often a swing vote when the court was divided.

Justice Alexander is well regarded in the legal community. US Magistrate Judge Karen Strombom said "he is my mentor and so highly regarded in the legal community" and Olympia attorney Steve Bean said "since 1965, I’ve known every chief justice of the Supreme Court and by far, Alexander is number one".