Washington Courts: Press Release Detail

Preserve Court History

Rare documents and photographs stored in dusty courthouse storage rooms.

How much of our state's legal history is fading away?

In the works for several years by Supreme Court Justices Gerry Alexander and Philip Talmadge, the recently-founded Washington Courts Historical Society is working towards preserving that legal history.

With a purpose of promoting greater public understanding of the significance of law in our state's history, the society is based on memberships from law students, attorneys, law firms and the general public. Retired Supreme Court Justice Robert F. Utter serves as president of the nonprofit corporation, and attorney Sherrie Boswell as its executive director.

Goal of preservation

"The founders were aware of the tremendous need for an organization to preserve this area of history, because it had been pretty much overlooked," Boswell told Judicial News in an interview last week.

While similar organizations in other states have been created to preserve Supreme Court artifacts, Boswell believes this is the first society in the nation to work toward preserving the history of the entire state court system.

"We are looking to include the history of the bar, and truly make this a statewide historical society," she said.

Personal interest

As an attorney, Boswell has had a long-term personal interest in legal history, but her interest grew further by conducting years of family genealogical research.

"In that process, I've been to many states and courthouses," she said. "I found the legal records to be generally fascinating."

One of the areas her research took her to were the county courthouses in Springfield, Illinois, the hometown of Abraham Lincoln.

"If you have the interest to start with, it is very exciting to find those original records," said Boswell.

In her research, however, she also found how poorly preserved some of those historical documents were. "The state of affairs in many courthouses is very sad," Boswell commented. "In many courthouses you'll find fragile old records thrown in basements or attics with little thought given to their preservation."

When she heard about the formation of the society, Boswell jumped at the chance to get involved. "I thought that it certainly brought together a number of my interests into one place. I had also had several years' experience on the board of trustees of a non-profit organization, so these aspects of my personal life made this a perfect fit."

CLE event next month

The society will hold its first big event next month--a day-long CLE entitled, "Understanding and Improving Appellate Practice in an Historical Context."

Sponsored by the Thurston County Bar and Government Lawyers Bar Association, the event will be held in the Supreme Court on December 3.

Presenters will include: Narda Pierce, solicitor general for the Attorney General's Office; Professor Cornell Clayton from Washington State University; Professor John Strait of Seattle University's School of Law; attorney Catherine Smith; Justices Alexander, Talmadge, Charles W. Johnson, Barbara A. Madsen, Richard B. Sanders, Faith Ireland and Chief Justice Richard P. Guy. (See registration sheet located at the back of Judicial News.)

Aside from the impressive panel, Boswell hopes this will be the first of many educational events for the Washington Historical Society.

"From a broader perspective, the CLE is about a fairly commonly discussed topic--Appellate Practice--but it centers around the idea of an historic context, using materials to make arguments in an historical context which is not often discussed specifically," she said.

Boswell says that attorneys are taught to do research on legislative history, showing progression of certain pieces of legislation and their early intentions. She sees the event as an opportunity to show attorneys that the historical society could provide information and access to useful research materials.

Strategic planning ahead

Ultimately, the society is still in the defining stages of its existence, and gaining membership from the legal community. Several strategic planning sessions will be conducted over the next few months for the purpose of defining the Society's goals and immediate objectives.

"We've thrown around a lot of ideas, but we can't do everything," Boswell explains.

Boswell sees the immediate need for a series of workshops throughout the state to assist court staff with the fundamentals of archival preservation. While there is no plan to build an archive facility, the society will serve the role of facilitating preservation, supporting the archival process, and finding a permanent home for the state's legal history.

Ultimately, Boswell also sees the society as being a central contact for anyone doing legal historic research. "We want to become the place to call," she says, "to determine who has what in regards to Washington's legal history."

If you are interested in joining the Washington Court Historical Society, contact Sherrie Boswell at (253) 804-2782 or via e-mail at slb@gte.net for an informational brochure.