Washington Supreme Court justice vacancy (January 2020)

Fairhurst Vacancy
Washington Supreme Court
Vacancy date
January 5, 2020
Vacancy status
Seat filled
Nomination date
December 4, 2019
Table of contents
Appointee candidates
Selection process
About Chief Justice Fairhurst

See also
Recent news
External links
Footnotes

On December 4, 2019, Governor Jay Inslee (D) appointed Judge Raquel Montoya-Lewis to succeed Chief Justice Mary Fairhurst on the Washington Supreme Court. Fairhurst retired January 5, 2020, for health reasons.[1][2]

At the time of the appointment under Washington law, the governor appointed a replacement in the event of a midterm vacancy. Montoya-Lewis was Inslee's second nominee to the nine-member supreme court.

## Contents

* 1 The appointee
* 2 The selection process
* 3 Appointee candidates and nominations
* 4 Noteworthy events
* 4.1 Montoya-Lewis first Native American to serve on Washington State Supreme Court
* 5 About Chief Justice Fairhurst
* 6 Other state supreme court appointments in 2020
* 7 See also
* 8 External links
* 9 Footnotes

## The appointee[edit]

See also: Raquel Montoya-Lewis

At the time of her appointment to the state supreme court, Montoya-Lewis was a judge for the Whatcom County Superior Court in Whatcom County. Gov. Inslee appointed Montoya-Lewis to this court on December 15, 2014.[3]

Before her appointment to the Whatcom County Superior Court, Montoya-Lewis served as the chief judge for the Nooksack and Upper Skagit Indian Tribes in Washington. She also worked as an associate professor for Western Washington University.[3]

Montoya-Lewis received her undergraduate degree from the University of New Mexico. She received both her master's degree in social work and her J.D. degree from the University of Washington.[3]

Montoya-Lewis is an enrolled member of the Pueblo of Isleta and a descendant of the Pueblo of Laguna Indian tribes.[2]

## The selection process[edit]

See also: Judicial selection in Washington and Washington judicial elections

At the time of the appointment, the governor appoints a replacement to the Washington Supreme Court in the event of a midterm vacancy. The appointee would serve until the next general election, at which point they could run to serve for the remainder of their predecessor's term.[4][5]

The nine justices of the supreme court competed in contested elections without reference to party affiliation and had to run for re-election when their terms expired. Supreme court justices served for six years.[4]

## Appointee candidates and nominations[edit]

The governor's office received 12 applicants for the supreme court position:[6]

* Laura Anglin
* James Davenport
* Judge Alex Ekstrom
* Judge George Fearing
* Jack Fiander
* Mary Gaston
* Judge Millie Judge
* Jodi McDougall
* Judge Raquel Montoya-Lewis
* Patrick Palace
* Judge Michael Price
* Judge G. Helen Whitener

## Noteworthy events[edit]

### Montoya-Lewis first Native American to serve on Washington State Supreme Court[edit]

Montoya-Lewis was the first Native American justice to be named to the Washington State Supreme Court.[2]

In a press release, Gov. Inslee said, "Because Judge Montoya-Lewis is Native American, many will focus on the historic nature of this appointment. And it’s entirely appropriate to do so. But I want the record to show that Judge Montoya-Lewis is the kind of exceptional judge I want serving on the highest court in our state because she is the best person for the job."[2]

## About Chief Justice Fairhurst[edit]

See also: Mary Fairhurst

Fairhurst was first elected by voters to the Washington Supreme Court in 2002 and was re-elected in 2008 and 2014.[7] She became the chief justice in 2016.[8]

Before joining the court, Fairhurst served in the Washington attorney general's office and as a law clerk for Judges William H. Williams and William C. Goodloe.[7]

Fairhurst earned her undergraduate degree in political science in 1979 and her J.D. in 1984 from Gonzaga University.[9]

## Other state supreme court appointments in 2020[edit]

See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2020

The following table lists vacancies to state supreme courts that opened in 2020. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.

Click here for vacancies that opened in 2021.

2020 judicial vacancies filled by appointment

Court  | Date of Vacancy  | Justice  | Reason  | Date Vacancy Filled  | Successor
Washington Supreme Court | January 5, 2020  | Mary Fairhurst | Retirement  | December 4, 2019  | Raquel Montoya-Lewis
Maine Supreme Judicial Court | January 2020  | Donald Alexander | Retirement  | January 6, 2020  | Andrew Horton
Illinois Supreme Court | February 2020  | Robert Thomas | Retirement  | March 1, 2020  | Michael J. Burke
Georgia Supreme Court | March 1, 2020  | Robert Benham | Retirement  | March 27, 2020  | Carla W. McMillian
Iowa Supreme Court | March 13, 2020  | David Wiggins | Retirement  | April 3, 2020  | Matthew McDermott
Washington Supreme Court | March 2020  | Charles Wiggins | Retirement  | April 13, 2020  | G. Helen Whitener
Maine Supreme Judicial Court | April 14, 2020  | Leigh Saufley | Retirement  | May 10, 2021  | Valerie Stanfill
Connecticut Supreme Court | May 27, 2020  | Richard Palmer | Retirement  | July 20, 2020  | Christine E. Keller
Alaska Supreme Court | June 1, 2020  | Craig Stowers | Retirement  | July 1, 2020  | Dario Borghesan
Hawaii Supreme Court | June 30, 2020  | Richard W. Pollack | Retirement  | November 19, 2020  | Todd Eddins
Rhode Island Supreme Court | June 30, 2020  | Gilbert Indeglia | Retirement  | December 8, 2020  | Erin Lynch Prata
Minnesota Supreme Court | July 31, 2020  | David Lillehaug | Retirement  | May 15, 2020  | Gordon Moore
California Supreme Court | August 31, 2020  | Ming Chin | Retirement  | November 10, 2020  | Martin Jenkins
New Jersey Supreme Court | August 31, 2020  | Walter F. Timpone | Retirement  | June 5, 2020  | Fabiana Pierre-Louis
Texas Supreme Court | August 31, 2020  | Paul Green | Retirement  | October 15, 2020  | Rebecca Huddle
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court | September 14, 2020  | Ralph D. Gants | Death  | November 18, 2020  | Kimberly S. Budd
Kansas Supreme Court | September 18, 2020  | Carol Beier | Retirement  | November 30, 2020  | Melissa Standridge
Georgia Supreme Court | November 18, 2020  | Keith Blackwell | Retirement  | December 1, 2020  | Shawn Ellen LaGrua
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court | December 1, 2020  | Barbara Lenk | Retirement  | November 25, 2020  | Dalila Wendlandt
New Mexico Supreme Court | December 1, 2020  | Judith Nakamura | Retirement  | December 19, 2020  | Julie Vargas
Illinois Supreme Court | December 7, 2020  | Thomas Kilbride | Was not retained  | December 8, 2020  | Robert Carter
Rhode Island Supreme Court | December 31, 2020  | Francis Flaherty | Retirement  | December 8, 2020  | Melissa Long
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals | December 31, 2020  | Michael Keasler | Retirement  | December 21, 2020  | Jesse McClure

## See also[edit]

Washington | Judicial Selection | More Courts

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|

Courts in Washington Washington Court of Appeals Washington Supreme Court |  Elections: 2026 • 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 Gubernatorial appointments Judicial selection in Washington |  Federal courts State courts Local courts

## External links[edit]

| Suggest a link

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* Search Google News for this topic
* Washington Supreme Court

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ King5 News, "Washington Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary Fairhurst to retire after colon cancer diagnosis," October 3, 2019
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Medium, "Inslee names first Native American to Washington State Supreme Court," December 4, 2019
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Office of Washington Governor Jay Inslee, "Governor Inslee announces appointment of Raquel Montoya-Lewis to the Whatcom County Superior Court," December 15, 2014
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Washington," archived October 3, 2014
5. ↑ Washington State Legislature, "Washington State Constitution," accessed September 24, 2014 (Scroll to Article IV)
6. ↑ The Lewiston Tribune, "Two Tri-Cities judges among applicants for Washington Supreme Court vacancy," November 8, 2019
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Washington Courts, "Justice Mary E. Fairhurst," accessed December 26, 2014
8. ↑ KUOW, "Washington chief justice to step down in January because of cancer," October 7, 2019
9. ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Justice Mary E. Fairhurst (WA)," accessed December 26, 2014

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