Washington Courts: Press Release Detail

New web page commemorates history of Washington Court of Appeals

The Washington State Court of Appeals is commemorating its 50^th anniversary this year with the launch of a new web page that explains the operations and explores the history of the “workhorse” of the state’s appellate system.

The web page includes explanatory videos, photo galleries, a timeline, an interactive yearbook of Court of Appeals (COA) judges from its inception, and more. The page can be found at www.courts.wa.gov/coa50

The three divisions of the Court of Appeals — based in Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane — hear thousands of appeals of trial court case outcomes from throughout the state each year. With the state Supreme Court accepting approximately 100 cases a year to review, the COA serves as the final court for most appeals.

“It’s a very significant role,” said Court of Appeals Division I Judge Marlin J. Appelwick, who has served on the court since 1998. The COA’s charge is to accept appeals of Washington state trial court outcomes and to review the details of those cases to ensure the law was followed, Appelwick said in a video on the new web page. “The Court of Appeals is a safety net.”

The Court of Appeals was established by a vote of the people on November 5, 1968, and opened its doors for business in August, 1969. Its first appellate opinion was released in September, 1969. As an intermediate appellate court it was established to manage the growing volume of appeals coming from the trial courts, which was threatening to swamp the state Supreme Court. Since its establishment, the number of judges serving in the three divisions has increased to 22 and the COA handles about 4,000 appeals each year.

“The Court of Appeals is the workhorse for the appellate courts,” said Washington Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary E. Fairhurst.