A state court of last resort / Established 1928

Washington Supreme Court

Olympia · A court of last resort in Washington.

The Washington Supreme Court is the highest court in Washington. Its justices are chosen by nonpartisan election. This page lists every justice to serve on the court, current and former, with when they joined the bench and whom they succeeded.

Justices in history

Currently serving

Nonpartisan

Selection

6-yr

Term

Current justices

Justice	Since
Charles W. Johnson	1991
Barbara Madsen	1993
Susan Owens	2001
Mary E. Fairhurst	2003
James M. Johnson	2005
Debra L. Stephens	2008
Charles K. Wiggins	2011
Steven C. Gonzalez	2012
Sheryl Gordon McCloud	2013
Mary Isabel Yu	2014
Raquel Devahl Montoya-Lewis	2020
Grace Helen Whitener	2020

Former justices

Justice	Years
Tom Chambers	2001–2012
Bobbe Jean Bridge	1999–2007
Faith Ireland	1998–2005
Richard B. Sanders	1996–2011
Gerry L. Alexander	1995–2011
Rosselle Pekelis	1995–1996
Philip A. Talmadge	1995–2001
Richard P. Guy	1989–2001
Charles Z. Smith	1988–2003
Keith McLean Callow	1985–1990
Barbara Durham	1985–1999
William Cassius Goodloe III	1985–1988
James A. Andersen	1984–1995
Vernon Robert Pearson	1982–1989
Carolyn R. Dimmick	1981–1985
Fred Hudson Dore	1981–1993
William H. Williams	1979–1985
Floyd V. Hicks	1977–1982
James Morgan Dolliver	1976–1999
Charles Horowitz	1975–1980
Robert Brachtenbach	1972–1994
Robert F. Utter	1971–1995
Charles T. Wright	1971–1980
Charles F. Stafford	1970–1984
Walter Thomas McGovern	1968–1971
Marshall Allen Neill	1967–1972
Morell Edward Sharp	1967–1971
Frank Hale	1963–1975
Orris L. Hamilton	1962–1979
Robert T. Hunter	1957–1977
Harry Ellsworth Foster	1956–1962
Richard B. Ott	1955–1967
Hugh J. Rosellini	1955–1984
Robert C. Finely	1951–1976
Robert Corpening Finley	1951–1976
Ralph O. Olson	1951–1955
Frank P. Weaver	1951–1970
Charles T. Donworth	1949–1967
Fredrick G. Hamley	1949–1956
Matthew W. Hill	1947–1969
Donald G. Abel	1946–1947
Edward M. Connelly	1946–1947
Edgar Ward Schwellenbach	1946–1957
Thomas Eugene Grady	1942–1955
Joseph A. Mallery	1942–1962
Samuel Marion Driver	1940–1946
Clyde G. Jeffers	1939–1949
John Robinson	1937–1951
George B. Simpson	1937–1951
William J. Steinert	1932–1949
Walter Burges Beals	1928–1951
William J. Millard	1928–1948

How a justice reaches this court. Justices of the Washington Supreme Court are chosen in nonpartisan elections to 6-year terms. Interim vacancies are filled by gubernatorial appointment, with the appointee standing for election at the next general election. Selection methods vary by jurisdiction and have changed over time; this page reflects the court’s current method (source: National Center for State Courts). Open any justice to see their tenure and whom they succeeded.

Source: CourtListener / Free Law Project; selection method from the National Center for State Courts. Data last verified 2026-06-30. Verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).