Judge C.C. Bridgewater

DIVISION II, POSITION 5

November 1, 1994–January 9, 2011

Appointed by Governor Lowry; Retired

Judge C.C. Bridgewater received a B.A. in Philosophy from Stanford University in 1966. He went on to earn a law degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1969.

Judge Bridgewater began his career with the Federal Trade Commission to do work in consumer protection in Kansas City, Missouri. After three years he moved to Cowlitz County and worked as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney. Two years later he entered into private practice, focusing on criminal defense, domestic relations, and health care law. In 1986 he was elected to serve as the Cowlitz County Prosecuting Attorney, where he served until his appointment to a newly made position at the Court of Appeals, Division Two in 1994. Judge Bridgewater served as Chief Judge from 1999-2000, and as Presiding Chief Judge in 2008.

Judge Bridgewater was involved with many Washington State Bar Association activities including: Chair of the Young Lawyers Section, Board member of Evergreen Legal Services, Washington Hospital Attorneys, BAR-PAC, Disciplinary Board, Criminal Justice Advisory Council, Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, Bar Examiner, and Task Force on Governance. He was also involved in community activities including: Board member of YMCA of S.W. Washington, Little League, KLTV, Health Care Foundation, Cowlitz County Bar Association, Ethnic Support Council, Member of Hospital Institutional Review Board, Rotary, Substance Abuse Coalition, and Chair for the Cancer Society Jail and Bail fundraiser.

On June 4, 2010, Judge Bridgewater suffered a heart attack while on vacation in Germany and was in a medically induced coma for five weeks. Consequently, he missed the deadline to file for re-election to the court. Judge Bridgewater served on the Court of Appeals until retiring in January 2011.

Judge Bridgewater died on July 20, 2014.