Williamsburg, VA — The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) recently inducted Justice Bobbe J. Bridge, Washington State Supreme Court (ret.), into the Warren E. Burger Society. The Burger Society honors individuals who have demonstrated an exemplary commitment to improving the administration of justice through extraordinary contributions of service and support to the NCSC.

 

Massachusetts Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall, chair of the NCSC Board of Directors and president of the Conference of Chief Justices, inducted Justice Bridge and other new members into the Burger Society at the NCSC Annual Recognition Luncheon in Washington, D.C.

 

Justice Bridge joined the Washington Supreme Court in 1999 and served as a King County Superior Court judge for 10 years before that. She spent much of her time on the King County bench hearing juvenile and dependency cases, and while still a member of the Supreme Court, she founded the nonprofit Center for Children and Youth Justice. The Center, which began with an award of $10 million from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, along with money from the Gates Foundation and others, is charged with administering grants for promising child-welfare programs across the state.

 

Inductees to the Burger Society are selected by a committee that is chaired by Texas attorney Charles M. Noteboom, who commissioned the original portrait of Chief Justice Burger that hangs in NCSC headquarters. Each new Burger Society member receives a limited edition print of the portrait, which is signed and numbered by the artist, Fran Di Giacomo. Chief Justice Burger’s children own the first two prints, and the late Chief Justice Rehnquist owned the last print, numbered 1986, the year Chief Justice Burger retired and Chief Justice Rehnquist took office.

 

The NCSC, headquartered in Williamsburg, Va., is a nonprofit court reform organization dedicated to improving the administration of justice by providing leadership and service to the state courts. The NCSC, founded in 1971 by the Conference of Chief Justices and Chief Justice of the United States Warren E. Burger, provides education, training, and technology, management, and research services to the nation’s state courts. The NCSC also is taking the lead on several key issues facing the justice system. For example, it has established a major civil justice initiative, a multiyear project that is examining best practices in civil case management and how complex litigation procedures can be improved. Other national initiatives being driven by the NCSC include judicial selection reform and increasing citizen participation in jury service.