Washington Courts: Judicial News Report Detail

A Founding Member

Earlier this year, the Court of Appeals celebrated its 30th year of existence at the Judicial Fall Conference in Olympia. In an opening reception, three of the twelve founding judges recounted their memories of the Court with a live taping of TVW's weekly program, "Inside Olympia."

Today, three founding Court of Appeals staff members can still be found in the judicial community. Division One's original clerk, Joseph A. Thibodeau, now serves on the Snohomish County Superior Court bench, and two staff members--Maribeth Johnson and Donnetta Gillum--are the Court's last remaining original employees.

Johnson recently announced she will retire at the end of December. This article recounts her recollections of thirty years with the Court, working as a secretary with Judges Ron Cox, Frank James and Jack Scholfield.

Authorized by the 50th Amendment to the Washington Constitution to alleviate the escalating workload of the Supreme Court, the new 12-member Court of Appeals opened for business in August of 1969.

Little did Maribeth Johnson know that a few months later, a job search would bring her to a thirty-year career with Division One of the Court of Appeals. Originally from the small, eastern Washington farm community of Tekoa, Johnson started with the Court's Clerk's Office through a temporary agency, and found herself mailing out dockets minutes after setting foot in the door. "When I first came to the Court, I had no idea what the future held," Johnson told Judicial News.

"Although the Court was created, there was really no office space to adequately house it." At the time, the division's Clerk's Office was housed in Seattle's IBM Building, while the six judges were temporarily located in the federal courthouse. Johnson made two more moves with the Court, including to the Pacific Building and its current location at One Union Square.

Moving forward

When asked to reflect on the changes in the business of the Court over the years, Johnson responds unequivocally.

"The ever-growing caseload of the Court has precipitated many changes," she said. "When I started with Judge James in 1974, the judges each had approximately 45 writing assignments per year, as compared to approximately 60 now. Back then, the Court heard a number of cases on the oral argument calendar that would today be disposed of through the commissioners' and judges' motion calendars."

"The Clerk's Office has grown from four people to thirteen, and the judges from the original six to ten," she said. Furthermore, she recalls back in 1969 there were no commissioners.

Court innovations

Working with several active judges throughout her career, Johnson has had the opportunity to work firsthand on several of the court's major innovations.

In 1986, Judge Scholfield became a driving force behind the Appellate Backlog Elimination Project or "ABLE," an ambitious program created to turn the Court's caseload deficit around. Supported by temporary staff members, special three-judge panels worked their way through the backlogged cases within a year's time.

"As pro-tem judges were recruited, the secretaries helped with the opinions," she recalled. "A lot of the judges opened up their offices to house extra law clerks who were hired specially for the project."

Years before ABLE, Johnson was involved in another effort to reduce our backlog, as James became the first settlement judge at Division One. "It was a lot of work in that our office handled all aspects of the settlements throughout the entire process--from the calendar setting, hearings (in the judge's office) and final disposition."

Fond memories

While looking forward to her retirement at the end of December, Johnson says she will miss the court and all the friends she's made over the years. In her new-found free time, she plans to pursue master gardener training, genealogical research and some home remodeling.

The one thing she won't miss: a daily commute from Lynnwood to Seattle. Although only 18 miles apart--depending on traffic conditions--the trip can take anywhere from 30 minutes to hours. While reflecting on the good times, she recalls one of her fondest memories--a 1998 secretarial "debut" at a holiday party. "We, in our judges' robes performed our song and dance number entitled My Judge' to the tune Mary Wells' My Guy'."

"That will always be a standout memory," she said.