Washington Courts: News and Information

Washington Supreme Court Chief Justice, Justices to be sworn in January 11th in virtual public ceremony

On Monday, January 11th at 9:30 a.m. in a virtual public ceremony broadcast on TVW, Justice Steven C. González will be sworn in as the 58th Chief Justice of the Washington Supreme Court, along with Justices Charles W. Johnson, Debra L. Stephens and Raquel Montoya-Lewis, who were each elected or reelected to six-year terms.

While swearing-in ceremonies are traditionally held at the Temple of Justice in Olympia, justices and guest speakers (including Governor Jay Inslee) will appear remotely to comply with COVID-19 social distancing protocols. The ceremony can be viewed live online at the following direct address: https://www.tvw.org/watch/?eventID=2021011000.

In the ceremony, Justice Steven C. González will be sworn in as the Court’s 58th Chief Justice, following a vote of his peers for a four-year term. A Justice since 2012, he previously served as King County Superior Court Judge for 10 years, as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington, an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Seattle, and a business law attorney in private practice. He received the U.S. Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award, the Department of Justice Director’s Award for Superior Performance and numerous Judge of the Year awards from a variety of local and national organizations.  As Chief Justice, González will become the Court’s chief spokesperson, preside over the Court’s public hearings and become administrative head of the state’s trial and appellate court system. He will also co-chair the state’s Board for Judicial Administration, the policy-setting group of the state judiciary.

The ceremony will also serve as the public inauguration for justices elected or reelected to full terms in 2020. Justices are elected to 6-year terms on a staggered schedule, with three Supreme Court seats up for election every other year, including:

• Charles W. Johnson, the Court’s Associate Chief Justice, began service on the Washington Supreme Court in January 1991. Justice Johnson was born in Tacoma, attended Curtis High School near Tacoma, and graduated from the University of Washington in 1974. He graduated from the University of Puget Sound School of Law (now Seattle University School of Law) in 1976. Recognized for his commitment to improving educational opportunities, he taught State Constitutional Law for over 15 years and he remains a Distinguished Jurist in Residence at Seattle University School of Law.
   
• Debra L. Stephens, currently the 57th Chief Justice of the Washington Supreme Court, was first appointed to the Court in January 2008, and subsequently elected in 2008, 2014 and now in 2020. She previously served as a judge for Division Three of the Court of Appeals and is the first judge from that court to serve on the Washington Supreme Court, as well as the first woman from Eastern Washington to do so. Justice Stephens attended Gonzaga University School of Law as a Thomas More Scholar. Prior to taking the bench, Justice Stephens practiced appellate law and taught state constitutional law as an adjunct professor at Gonzaga University School of Law.
   
• Raquel Montoya-Lewis was appointed to the Court by Governor Jay Inslee in December 2019 and first took the oath of office on January 6, 2020. Justice Montoya-Lewis is an enrolled member of the Pueblo of Isleta and a descendant of the Pueblo of Laguna, two federally recognized tribes in New Mexico. She is the first enrolled member of any tribe to sit on a state supreme court in the U.S. and the second Native American to sit on a state supreme court. She is also of Jewish descent. Prior to becoming an Associate Justice, she served as a Superior Court judge for Whatcom County for five years, where she heard criminal and civil trials and presided over the Whatcom County Therapeutic Drug Court. In the 15 years prior to her work on the Superior Court, she served as a tribal court judge for multiple tribes in the Pacific Northwest and the Southwest. She served as Chief Judge for the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe, the Nooksack Indian Tribe, and the Lummi Nation.

For full biographies on all justices of the Washington Supreme Court, please visit http://www.courts.wa.gov/appellate_trial_courts/SupremeCourt/?fa=supremecourt.justices.