Washington Courts: Press Release Detail

Washington Supreme Court Justices Owens, González and McCloud to be sworn in January 14 in public ceremony

Recently re-elected Washington Supreme Court Justices Susan Owens, Steven C. González and Sheryl Gordon McCloud will be sworn in to office on Monday, January 14 in a public ceremony in the Temple of Justice on the Capitol Campus in Olympia.

The ceremony begins at 9:30 a.m. and will be live-streamed by TVW on their website and will be taped for later broadcast.

While seating is very limited in the courtroom, overflow seating will be available in the foyer of the Temple of Justice.

Washington Supreme Court justices are elected to 6-year terms on a staggered schedule, with three Supreme Court seats up for election every other year. The justices re-elected in 2018 to begin new terms in 2019 are:

• Justice Susan Owens, who originally joined the Supreme Court in January, 2001 when she became the seventh woman to serve on the Court. Prior to her election she had served 19 years as Clallam County District Court judge and is a lifelong member of the  District and Municipal Court Judges’ Association (DMCJA). During her times as a district court judge, she served on many DMCJA committees and co-founded the Rural Courts Committee. She also served as the Quileute Tribe's Chief Judge for five years and Chief Judge of the Lower Elwha S'Klallam Tribe for more than six years. She has served on numerous judicial branch commissions and committees.

• Justice Steven C. González, who joined the Supreme Court January 1, 2012, and won contested races for six-year terms that began in 2013 and now 2019. Before joining the Supreme Court, Justice González served for 10 years as a trial judge on the King County Superior Court, hearing criminal, civil, juvenile, and family law cases. Prior to serving on the bench, Justice González was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Western District of Washington, a domestic violence prosecutor for the City of Seattle and in private practice at a Seattle law firm. He has been given numerous awards by national, state and local organizations for his work on and off the bench. He serves as Chair of the Supreme Court Interpreter Commission along with other committees.

• Justice Sheryl Gordon McCloud, who was elected to the Supreme Court in 2012 after nearly 30 years as an appellate lawyer. She was the recipient of the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers' highest award, the William O. Douglas Award. Justice Gordon McCloud also helped found the Washington Appellate Lawyers Association and taught classes at Seattle University School of Law. She serves as Chair of the Washington Supreme Court Gender and Justice Commission and represents the Court on the State Bar’s Council on Public Defense.

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

To view the livestream of the inauguration ceremony, or to view the taped broadcast, visit TVW, Washington's Public Affairs TV Network, at www.tvw.org.