Washington Courts: Press Release Detail

Retired Washington Supreme Court Justice Charles K. Wiggins Passes Away

Retired Washington Supreme Court Justice Charles K. Wiggins passed away on Tuesday, May 27, from complications due to Parkinson’s disease, his family announced. He was 77.

Wiggins, a longtime resident of Bainbridge Island, was elected to the Supreme Court in 2010 and retired March 31, 2020, during his second term.

“It has been a tremendous honor to serve on the Supreme Court for the past decade,” he said upon announcing his retirement. “However, I wish to spend more time with my wife, Nancy, and our family. Thus, the time has come for me to step down, opening the way for a new justice.” 

Governor Jay Inslee appointed then-Pierce County Superior Court Judge G. Helen Whitener to the open position on the Court.

In addition to his service on the Supreme Court, Wiggins served as a judge on Division Two of the Washington Court of Appeals, and as a pro tem (temporary) superior court judge in King and Jefferson counties and as a pro tem district court judge in Kitsap County.  

Wiggins grew up the son of a career warrant officer and attended Princeton University on an ROTC scholarship, graduating magna cum laude. He then served in the Army Military Intelligence Corps for four years, rising to the rank of Captain and earning his Masters of Business Administration in night school. He attended Duke Law School with help from the G.I. Bill and was admitted to the Bar in 1976.

In private practice, he was a partner with the firm of Edwards, Sieh, Wiggins & Hathaway, where he focused primarily on appeals in the state Court of Appeals and Supreme Court, the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and once as co-counsel in the United States Supreme Court. He also started his own appellate firm with Ken Masters, Wiggins and Masters.

Wiggins’ family is planning a celebration of life this summer on Bainbridge Island, with details to be announced later. More information on his background, legal experiences and impacts on Washington’s judicial system will be released next week.