Justice Richard B. Sanders

Richard B. Sanders was elected to the Washington Supreme Court in November 1995 after 26 years of private practice. In 14 years on the bench Justice Sanders has written over 500 opinions and gained a broad base of support for his tireless articulation of the Rule of Law under the Washington State Constitution and the United States Constitution.

As a private practitioner he championed the civil rights of his clients and as a Justice he regards protecting our constitutionally guaranteed liberties as the first duty of our highest court.

Justice Sanders believes the court must protect all the legal rights of all the citizens who come before it all of the time. “We have no second class citizens,” he adds. His special interest is the Washington State Constitution, and he often quotes his favorite passage: “All political power is inherent in the people, and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, and are established to protect and maintain individual rights.” Washington Const. art. I, § 1.

A resident of Vashon Island, Justice Sanders is a native of Tacoma and remembers spending the best years of his childhood there. He moved to Seattle where he graduated from Highline High School. While at Highline High he was elected president of the school’s debate club, and he earned the rank of Eagle Scout. Justice Sanders received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Washington after participating in the political science honors program and playing ^[1] in the Rose Bowl. He thereafter earned his J.D. in 1969 from the University of Washington School of Law. During his years at the University, Justice Sanders wrote “The Devil’s Advocate,” a weekly opinion column in The Daily, the UW student newspaper.

Justice Sanders serves on the Supreme Court’s Rules Committee and the Court’s Budget Committee. As a member of the judiciary, he has testified before the Senate Committee on Judiciary at public hearings during several legislative sessions on matters concerning the law, the legal system, and the administration of justice.

Justice Sanders is frequently asked to be a panelist in continuing legal education courses. One of his favorite CLE “debates” was with UW Law Professor Stewart Jay in “Implications of Kelo v. City of New London,” a United States Supreme Court eminent domain case decided in 2005. The Kelo presentation has developed into a popular PowerPoint lecture that Justice Sanders continues to take on the road to interested civic groups across the State.

The Washington State Constitution and the Supreme Court’s cases interpreting the constitution are favorite subjects of Justice Sanders, in addition to civil liberties, due process, property rights and land use, the government’s use of police power, and separation of church and state. Known for his thoughtful perception, Justice Sanders thoroughly enjoys engaging lawyers, Rotarians, community groups, and students of all ages in discussing these important texts and topics, in hopes of furthering the people’s appreciation of the principles expounded in the Constitution and their influence on our daily lives.

Since taking his seat on the Supreme Court, Justice Sanders has taught appellate advocacy at the UW School of Law and guest lectured on state constitutional law at Seattle University. Justice Sanders has also penned two articles for law journals (Gonzaga Law Review and New York University Annual Survey of American Law), and he wrote a chapter for In the Name of Justice, edited by Timothy Lynch and published by the Cato Institute in 2009. For more on Justice Sanders’ writing and speeches, please refer to www.JusticeSanders.com.

Justice Sanders has received numerous awards in honor of his service to the judiciary and community, among them: Honorary Membership in the University of Washington Law Review, Law Day Liberty Bell Award, Washington Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys’ Champion of Justice Award, and Washington Newspaper Publishers Association Walter C. Woodward Freedom’s Light Award.

Justice Sanders enjoys inviting students and community groups to tour the Temple of Justice and to visit with him. He is the father of Laura Sanders, a 2009 summa cum laude graduate of the University of San Francisco. Laura is enthusiastic in all her endeavors and is the light of her daddy’s life.