Susan Owens
Susan Owens was a judge for Position 2 of the Washington Supreme Court. She assumed office on January 8, 2001. She left office on January 12, 2025.
Owens ran for re-election for the Position 2 judge of the Washington Supreme Court. She won in the general election on November 6, 2018.
Owens first became a member of the Washington Supreme Court through a nonpartisan election. She was first elected to the court in 2000. To read more about judicial selection in Washington, click here.
Owens passed away on March 28, 2025.[1]
Biography
Owens graduated from Duke University in 1971. She earned her J.D. in 1975 from the University of North Carolina School of Law. Prior to joining the Washington Supreme Court, Owens served as chief judge of the Quileute Tribe for five years and chief judge of the Lower Elwha/S'Klallam Tribe for over six years. She was a district judge in Clallam County for 19 years.[2]
Owens has served on the Washington Supreme Court's Rules Committee, the Bench-Bar-Press Committee, and the Board for Judicial Administration. She has also served as the chairperson of the Washington State Interpreter Commission and of the Washington Supreme Court's Fall Judicial Conference.[3]
Elections
2024
- See also: Washington Supreme Court elections, 2024
Susan Owens did not file to run for re-election.
2018
See also: Washington Supreme Court elections, 2018
General election
General election for Washington State Supreme Court Position 2
Incumbent Susan Owens won election in the general election for Washington State Supreme Court Position 2 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Susan Owens (Nonpartisan) | 100.0 | 2,062,701 |
| Total votes: 2,062,701 | |||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- John Scannell (Nonpartisan)
Nonpartisan primary election
The primary election was canceled. Incumbent Susan Owens advanced from the primary for Washington State Supreme Court Position 2.
Selection method
- See also: Nonpartisan election of judges
The nine justices of the supreme court are selected through contested elections without reference to party affiliation and must run for re-election when their terms expire. Justices serve for six years.[4] In the event of a midterm vacancy, the governor appoints a replacement. The appointee serves until the next general election, at which point he or she may run to serve for the remainder of the predecessor's term.[4] If the resignation and subsequent appointment take place after the filing period for that year's elections opens, the appointee must stand in the next general election in order to remain on the bench.
Qualifications
To serve on the supreme court, a justice must be:
- a resident and qualified voter of the state;
- admitted to practice law in the courts of record in Washington; and
- under the age of 75.
Selection of the chief justice
The chief justice of the court is selected by peer vote for a term of four years.
2012
- See also: Washington judicial elections, 2012
Justice Owens was re-elected to her position on the Washington Supreme Court. Owens won 63.5% of the vote in the primary election and 100% in the general election.[5][6][7]
Ratings
- Rated as Well Qualified by the King County Bar Association.[8]
- Rated as Qualified by the Justice for Washington Foundation[9]
2006
Justice Owens defeated Stephen Johnson in the 2006 election, winning 59.84% of the vote.[10][11]
| Candidate | Incumbent | Seat | Primary % | Election % |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Susan Owens  |
Position #2 | 46% | 59.8% | ||
| Stephen Johnson | Position #2 | 34.7% | 40.2% | ||
| Richard Smith | Position #2 | 5.5% | |||
| Norman J. Ericson | Position #2 | 5.4% | |||
| Michael Johnson | Position #2 | 8.3% |
2000
| Candidate | Incumbent | Seat | Primary % | Election % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Susan Owens |
Position #2 | 26.3% | 52.4% | ||
| Jeff Sullivan | Position #2 | 18.5% | 47.6% | ||
| Barrie Althoff | Position #2 | 8.5% | |||
| David Larson | Position #2 | 14% | |||
| Terry Carroll | Position #2 | 15.9% | |||
| Doug Schafer | Position #2 | 10.5% | |||
| Geoff Crooks | Position #2 | 6% |
Analysis
Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship (2020)
Last updated: June 15, 2020
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country as of June 15, 2020.
The study presented Confidence Scores that represented our confidence in each justice's degree of partisan affiliation. This was not a measure of where a justice fell on an ideological spectrum, but rather a measure of how much confidence we had that a justice was or had been affiliated with a political party. The scores were based on seven factors, including but not limited to party registration.[12]
The five resulting categories of Confidence Scores were:
- Strong Democrat
- Mild Democrat
- Indeterminate[13]
- Mild Republican
- Strong Republican
This justice's Confidence Score, as well as the factors contributing to that score, is presented below. The information below was current as of June 2020.
Susan
Owens
Washington
- Partisan Confidence Score:
Indeterminate - Judicial Selection Method:
Elected - Key Factors:
- Donated less than $2,000 to Democratic candidates
Partisan Profile
Details:
Owens donated $1,500 to Democratic candidates.
Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores (2012)
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Owens received a campaign finance score of -1.4, indicating a liberal ideological leaning. This was more liberal than the average score of -0.91 that justices received in Washington.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[14]
State supreme court judicial selection in Washington
- See also: Judicial selection in Washington
The nine justices of the supreme court are selected through contested nonpartisan elections and must run for re-election when their terms expire. Supreme court judges serve for six years.[15]
Qualifications
To serve on the supreme court, a judge must be:
- admitted to practice law in Washington; and
- under the age of 75.[16]
Chief justice
The chief justice of the supreme court is selected through a peer vote and has a set term of four years.[17]
Vacancies
In the event of a midterm vacancy, the governor appoints a replacement. The appointee serves until the next general election, at which point he or she may run to serve for the remainder of the predecessor's term.[18] If the resignation and subsequent appointment takes place after the filing period opens for that year's elections, the appointee must stand in the next year's election to remain on the bench.[19]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ My Clallam County, “Justice Susan Owens, Former Clallam County Judge, Dies at 75" accessed March 28, 2025
- ↑ Washington Courts, "Justice Susan Owens," accessed July 23, 2021
- ↑ Re-Elect Justice Susan Owens, "Biography," archived March 7, 2012
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Washington," archived October 3, 2014
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "2012 Primary Results by County," August 28, 2012
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "2012 Candidates Who Have Filed," archived June 5, 2012
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "Judicial - All Results," November 8, 2013
- ↑ King County Bar Association, "2012 Judicial Election," accessed July 23, 2021
- ↑ Justice for Washington Foundation, "Justice for Washington Rates Supreme Court and Court of Appeals Candidates," archived July 28, 2012
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "2006 General Election Results," November 25, 2006
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Owens, Susan J," accessed July 26, 2021
- ↑ The seven factors were party registration, donations made to partisan candidates, donations made to political parties, donations received from political parties or bodies with clear political affiliation, participation in political campaigns, the partisanship of the body responsible for appointing the justice, and state trifecta status when the justice joined the court.
- ↑ An Indeterminate score indicates that there is either not enough information about the justice’s partisan affiliations or that our research found conflicting partisan affiliations.
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, Methods of Judicial Selection: Washington," accessed April 16, 2025
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, Methods of Judicial Selection: Washington," accessed April 16, 2025
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, Methods of Judicial Selection: Washington," accessed April 16, 2025
- ↑ Washington State Legislature, "Washington State Constitution," accessed April 16, 2025 (Scroll to Article IV, Section 3)
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, Methods of Judicial Selection: Washington," accessed April 16, 2025
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Washington State Supreme Court Position 2 2001-2025 |
Succeeded by Sal Mungia |
Federal courts:
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Washington, Western District of Washington • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Washington, Western District of Washington
State courts:
Washington Supreme Court • Washington Court of Appeals • Washington Superior Court • Washington District Courts • Washington Municipal Courts
State resources:
Courts in Washington • Washington judicial elections • Judicial selection in Washington
