Governor Inslee made his appointment this week to the fill the vacancy created on the state Supreme Court by the retirement of Chief Justice Fairhurst. Although his selection of Whatcom County Superior Court Judge Raquel Montoya-Lewis was a historic first, many on the east side of the state had hoped the Governor would appoint one of the highly qualified applicants from Eastern Washington. Among those calling for more geographic diversity on the state Supreme Court is the Chair of the Franklin County Democratic Party. Jeffrey Robinson told me this week:

“The Washington Supreme Court makes many consequential decisions that affect the entire state. Because of its importance it is essential that Eastern Washingtonians receive equal representation on that body. Until that happens, we are likely to continue to see a trust deficit on the eastern side of the state towards all three branches of our state government. It’s time to start having this conversation now.”

This point was also recently made by the Tri-City Herald in its editorial “Gov. Inslee needs to add some regional balance to the state Supreme Court.” The Herald wrote:

“Gov. Jay Inslee has a mighty decision to make in appointing a new justice to the Washington state Supreme Court.

We imagine all 12 applicants are brilliant and have outstanding resumes.

However, considering that all but one of the nine state Supreme Court justices are from the west side of the state, we encourage Inslee to choose someone from Eastern Washington.

Appointing an applicant who has been immersed in legal issues from east of the Cascades would provide a regional balance that is currently missing from the state’s most prestigious bench.

In addition, it also would help Eastern Washington residents to feel better represented in Olympia.”

Current Justice Stephens (the new Chief Justice) is the lone current member of the state Supreme Court that hails from Eastern Washington.

In recent years, any Supreme Court Justices from Eastern Washington have gotten their start on the Court via an appointment. Justice Stephens was appointed by Governor Gregoire and the last justice prior to her, Justice Richard P. Guy, was appointed by Governor Gardner.

Why does geographic diversity of the state Supreme Court matter?

Although Justices are not representatives but instead are charged with making impartial decisions based on matters of law, the life experiences of those that serve us on the Court are important in helping them make their decisions. This is why, along with the Court having diversity of gender and ethnicity among its ranks, it should also have diversity of geography and cultural experiences from across Washington State.

This is something Gov. Gregoire understood when she appointed Justice Stephens to the Court. Gregoire said: 

“An appointment from Eastern Washington really fundamentally lets our citizens know that we are one Washington and that people in Eastern Washington are represented on this court as well.”

Gregoire also told the Seattle Times:

“People in Eastern Washington feel that there ought to be some representation on the high court.”

We agree with former Supreme Court Justice Guy when he said:

“It is very important that the Washington State Supreme Court have the diversity of viewpoint that a justice from Eastern Washington brings to the bench.”

Rather than rely on the chance of geographic diversity being address with an appointment, another approach would be to elect the State Supreme Court based on broad regional districts, like several other states do.

Whether by direct election or via retention votes, Supreme Court Justices are elected by districts in the following states: Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Tennessee. Washington could follow the examples of these states and base our districts on the state’s three appellate divisions.

A proposal in 2015 would have brought state Supreme Court district elections to Washington. Although SJR 8205 (Amending the state Constitution so that justices of the supreme court are elected by qualified electors of a supreme court judicial district) was passed to the Senate Rules Committee, it never received a floor vote.

Prime sponsor of SJR 8205, Sen. Padden, plans to bring a version of the proposal back in 2020. Sen. Padden told me this week: 

“Electing judges by district has several benefits, not least of which is strengthening the bond between judges and the communities that they serve. It would also likely result in greater geographical diversity on the court, and perhaps, a greater diversity in judicial philosophy of the Justices. I am working on an updated version of the bill for the 2020 legislative session.”

By changing the way we elect Supreme Court Justices to district-based elections, we work toward a Court that is truly reflective of "One Washington" and not just the Puget Sound, while also facilitating more choices for voters, fewer cost barriers to running, and increasing the opportunity for voter engagement.

As noted by former State Supreme Court Justice Jim Johnson, it is important that the votes needed for electing our Supreme Court Justices extend beyond the shadow of the Space Needle.