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There are a variety of officers of the court that work to support the Washington State judicial system and as the home of the Washington State Supreme Court the Temple of Justice is no exception. This includes judges, clerks, bailiffs, and the reporter of decisions among other personnel.
Justices of the Washington State Supreme Court
The mission of the Washington Supreme Court is to protect the liberties guaranteed by the constitution and laws of the state of Washington and the United States; impartially uphold and interpret the law; and provide open, just, and timely resolution of all matters.
Clerk of the Washington State Supreme Court
The clerk of the Supreme Court maintains the court's records, files, and documents. The clerk is also responsible for managing the court's case flow, including the preparation of its calendars, arranging for pro tem (temporary) judges and docketing all cases and papers filed.
For more information, view the Washington Courts website regarding the Clerk of the Court.
Clerks of the Supreme Court:
- Sol Smith: 1889 - 1891
- C. S. Reinhart: 1891 - 1934
- Benjamin T. Hart: 1934 - 1957
- Robert Holstein: 1957 - 1961
- William Lowry: 1961 - 1975
- John J. Champagne: 1975 - 1981
- Reginald N. Shriver: 1981 - 1988
- Jerry Merritt: 1989 - 2006
- Ronald R. "Ron" Carpenter: 2007 - 2016
- Susan Carlson: 2016 - present
Bailiff of the Washington State Supreme Court
A court-appointed official, the bailiff announces the opening of each session of the court, maintains official hearing records, provides security and performs a variety of other duties as required by the court.
Partial List of Supreme Court Bailiffs:
- Mr. Crandall
- Donald McDonald
- Dave Webster
- Jack Day
- Steve Englehorn: 1997 - 2009
- Tim Schiewe: 2009 - 2017
- Guy Rosser: 2017 - present
Court Commissioner of the Washington State Supreme Court
The commissioner, appointed by the court, decides those types of motions which are not required by court rule to be decided by the justices. Called rulings, these decisions are subject to review by the court.
The commissioner also heads the court's central staff. The commissioner and other attorneys on the central staff assist the court in screening cases to determine which ones should be accepted for full hearing.
The Commissioner's Office (then called the Appellate Screening Unit) was created in 1976, and originally consisted of the commissioner and two staff attorneys. At that time, the court received between 500 and 600 filings each year.
Today the office is staffed by nine people, including the commissioner, staff attorneys and support staff. The court receives more than 1,500 filings each year. Only a small portion of these are cases accepted by the court.
Duties of the commissioner are outlined in Supreme Court Administrative Rule (SAR) 15.
Court Commissioners:
- Joan Smith Lawrence: 1976 - 1979
- Geoffrey Crooks: 1979 - 2006
- Steve Goff: 2006 -2013
- Narda Pierce: 2013 - 2017
- Michael Johnston: 2017 - present
Reporter of Decisions of the Washington State Supreme Court
The Reporter of Decisions is a constitutional officer of the Washington State Supreme Court responsible for the accurate and timely editing and publishing of appellate court opinions in both hard copy and on the Internet.
Here are a few milestones (and trivia) in the publication of Supreme Court opinions:
- The position of Reporter of Decisions was created during the Washington Territory. The two reporters of decisions for the Territory Reports (1854-1888) were John B Allen and Henry G. Struve.
- Washington Reports, containing the opinions of the newly formed state Supreme Court as well as the opinions of the Territorial Supreme Court filed in 1889, was first published in 1891. By 1905 the cost of a bound volume had grown to $2.50.
- Volume 187 of Washington Reports is the last volume of Arthur Remington's 33-year tenure as reporter (1903-1937). Mr. Remington is better known for compiling Remington's Revised Statutes, a precursor to the Revised Code of Washington. His service as reporter didn't prevent him from practicing law in Tacoma; in fact, he argued 12 cases before the Supreme Court while serving as the reporter.
- In 1939 volume 1 of Washington Reports, Second Series was published. The new series was started to aid marketing at the behest of the Bancroft-Whitney Company of San Francisco, the contract distributor of the reports since the publication of 1 Wash. Terr.
- In 1969 the first volume of Washington Appellate Reports was published. The advent of the Court of Appeals more than doubled the work of the reporter's office.
- In 1971, RCW 2.06.040 was amended to require the nonpublication of opinions lacking precedential value.
- Between 2001 and 2010 the Washington State Supreme Court filed an average of 125 cases per year. The average number of total opinions filed, including majority, concurring and dissenting opinions, was 205 per year.
Reporter of Decisions:
- Eugene G. Kreider: 1889 - 1903
- Arthur Remington: 1903 - 1937
- Solon D. Williams: 1937 - 1958
- Franklin L. Calkins: 1958 - 1960
- Richard F. Jones: 1961 - 1989
- Ray A. Krontz: 1989 - 1994
- Debby Norwood: 1994 - 2001
- Truman S. Fuller: 2001 - 2009
- Danilo Anselmo: 2009 - 2011
- Rick Neidhardt: 2013 - 2018
- Sam Thompson: 2018 - present
Law Librarian
When the Temple opened in 1913, the Law Library (a division of the State Library at the time) was destined for the Main Reading Room. In 1959, the Law Library joined the judicial branch and was placed under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
The State Law Library's primary mission is to provide an up to date collection of research materials for the use of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and other state agencies. The library is also open to attorneys and the general public.
Over the last century, the method of conducting legal research changed significantly. Gone are the days when library customers could only access the library in person, spending hours upon hours using digests and indexes to find cases.
Today, library customers across the state contact the library through email and chat (instant messaging) as well in person visits.
In addition to its extensive book collection, the Law Library has a computer center, providing legal database access at no charge to customers. For off-site customers, the library has extensive interlibrary loan, scan and email services.
State Law Librarians:
- Roy Merskey
- Connie E. Bolden: 1966 - 1989
- Debbie Norwood: 1990 - 2001
- Kay E. Newman: 2002 - 2016
- Robert Mead: 2016 - present
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