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Washington Supreme Court justice vacancy (March 2020)
| Washington Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Wiggins vacancy |
| Date: March 30, 2020 |
| Status: Seat filled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: G. Helen Whitener |
| Date: April 13, 2020 |
Governor Jay Inslee (D) appointed Judge G. Helen Whitener to the Washington Supreme Court on April 13, 2020. Whitener succeeded Justice Charles K. Wiggins, who retired at the end of March 2020. Whitener was the governor's third nominee to the nine-member state supreme court.[1][2]
At the time of the appointment under Washington law, the governor appointed a replacement in the event of a midterm vacancy. Otherwise, judges were selected in nonpartisan elections.
The appointee
When she was appointed to the state supreme court, Whitener was a judge on the Pierce County Superior Court in Washington. She was appointed by Gov. Inslee on January 6, 2015.[3] From 2013 to 2015, she was a judge on the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals. She was an attorney in private practice from 2005 to 2013.[2]
Whitener earned her bachelor’s degree from Baruch College in New York and her J.D. from Seattle University School of Law. She is from Trinidad and moved to the United States as a teenager to attend college.[2]
The selection process
At the time of the appointment, the governor appoints a replacement to the Washington Supreme Court in the event of a midterm vacancy. The appointee would serve until the next general election, at which point they could run to serve for the remainder of their predecessor's term.[4][5]
The nine justices of the supreme court competed in contested elections without reference to party affiliation and had to run for re-election when their terms expired. Supreme court justices served for six years.[4]
Wiggins' seat appeared on the ballot in a nonpartisan election on November 3, 2020. Candidates ran to finish the last two years of his term, set to expire on January 8, 2023.[1]
Makeup of the court
- See also: Washington Supreme Court
When Whitener joined the court, she joined the following justices:
| ■ Steven Gonzalez | Appointed by Gov. Christine Gregoire (D) in 2011 | |
| ■ Charles W. Johnson | First elected in 1990 | |
| ■ Barbara Madsen | First elected in 1992 | |
| ■ Sheryl McCloud | First elected in 2012 | |
| ■ Raquel Montoya-Lewis | Appointed by Gov. Jay Inslee (D) in 2019 | |
| ■ Susan Owens | First elected in 2000 | |
| ■ Debra Stephens | Appointed by Gov. Gregoire in 2007 | |
| ■ Mary Yu | Appointed by Gov. Inslee in 2014 |
About Justice Wiggins
- See also: Charlie Wiggins
Wiggins was elected to the Washington Supreme Court in 2010. He was re-elected in 2016. Before joining the state supreme court, Wiggins was a Division 2 judge of the Washington Court of Appeals. He also worked in private practice, at his own firm and for a firm in Seattle known at the time as Edwards, Sieh, Wiggins & Hathaway. Wiggins also previously served as a pro tem judge in the Jefferson County and King County superior courts and as a pro tem district court judge in Kitsap County.
Wiggins earned his undergraduate degree from Princeton University, where he graduated magna cum laude. Wiggins served in the Army Military Intelligence Corps for four years after graduating from Princeton. During that time, he obtained his master's degree in business administration from the University of Hawaii. He then obtained his J.D. from Duke Law School, graduating in 1976.[1]
In a prepared statement about his retirement, Wiggins said he wished to spend more time with his wife, Nancy, and his family.[1]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2020
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2020
The following table lists vacancies to state supreme courts that opened in 2020. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2021.
See also
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Washington Supreme Court
- Wiggins' biography from the Washington Supreme Court
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Seattle Times, "Justice Charles Wiggins announces plan to retire from the Washington Supreme Court," January 16, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Washington Governor Jay Inslee, "Inslee appoints Judge G. Helen Whitener to the Washington State Supreme Court," April 13, 2020
- ↑ The News Tribune, "G. Helen Whitener to take Pierce County Superior Court seat," January 6, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Washington," archived October 3, 2014
- ↑ Washington State Legislature, "Washington State Constitution," accessed September 24, 2014 (Scroll to Article IV)
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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
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