Washington Courts: Press Release Detail

Monday’s Supreme Court Inauguration Ceremony to honor newly-elected Justice Mary Yu, new terms for Justices

OLYMPIA, WA— On Monday, January 12^th at 9:30 a.m. newly-elected Justice Mary Yu will be sworn in as the newest Justice of the Washington State Supreme Court, along with the inaugurations of Justice Charles W. Johnson, Mary E. Fairhurst and Debra L. Stephens, who were re-elected to six-year terms.

While seating is limited, the event is open to the public and will be held in the Supreme Court at the Temple of Justice in Olympia.

• Justice Mary Yu joined the Supreme Court after more than 14 years as a trial court judge in King County Superior Court where she presided over a wide variety of criminal, civil, and juvenile cases, and presided over hundreds of adoptions and other family law matters. Named as the 2014 “Judge of the Year” from the Washington State Association for Justice, she also received the 2014 “Betty B. Fletcher Judge of the Year” Award from Washington Women Lawyers, King County Chapter, among numerous other awards. Yu received her B.A. from Dominican University, M.A., Religious Studies from Mundelein College of Loyola University in Chicago, and J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School.

• Associate Chief Justice Charles W. Johnson began service on the Washington State Supreme Court in January 1991, and is the longest serving justice on the court. Justice Johnson was born in Tacoma, attended Curtis High School near Tacoma, and graduated from the University of Washington in 1974. He graduated from the University of Puget Sound School of Law (now Seattle University School of Law) in 1976. He remains a Distinguished Jurist in Residence at Seattle University Law School.

• Justice Mary E. Fairhurst was first elected in 2002, began serving as a justice on the Washington Supreme Court in 2003. She felt she had come home because she started her legal career in the Court as a judicial clerk first with Chief Justice William H. Williams in 1984 and then with Justice William C. Goodloe until 1986. For the intervening 16 years, Justice Fairhurst served in the Washington Attorney General’s Office working with Attorneys General Christine Gregoire and Ken Eikenberry. Fairhurst earned her undergraduate degree and law degree from Gonzaga University.  She has received many awards, including the Award of Merit from the Washington State Bar Association.

• Justice Debra L. Stephens was first elected to the Washington Supreme Court in 2008. She previously served as a judge for Division III of the Court of Appeals based in Spokane. Justice Stephens is a native of Spokane where she practiced law until taking the bench, focusing on appellate work with over 125 appearances in the state Supreme Court as well as appearances in the state Court of Appeals, Idaho Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and as counsel of record in the U.S. Supreme Court. She is a graduate of the Gonzaga University School of Law and is the first woman from Eastern Washington to serve on the Court.

For full biographies, please visit www.courts.wa.gov. The ceremony will be covered by TVW, Washington's Public Affairs TV Network.