Progressives and Dark-Money Backed Conservatives Vie for Control of Washington State Supreme Court
This November, Washingtonians will cast their ballots for five Washington State Supreme Court justices. Due to a rush of retirements (both forced and chosen), five of the nine total seats on the court are up for grabs this year, representing a majority of the court.
The current state Supreme Court is considered to be one of the most progressive in the nation, and it is also one of the most influential, with a study from 2007 finding it second only to California in the number of its followed decisions (decisions it made that at least one other out-of-state court followed). The recent 2021 decision in State v. Blake, striking down the state’s drug felony possession law, was discussed all over the country and continues to have ramifications today.
“Our state Supreme Court has been one of the strongest, most visionary Supreme Courts in the country,” said La Rond Baker, the legal director for the ACLU of Washington. “It has led the way in diversity, and it has led the way in really protecting the rights of Washingtonians in many of their rulings.”
In an unusual move, the court released a letter in 2020 acknowledging the role they had played in “devaluing black lives” and upholding the importance of those in the legal profession “dismantling systemic racism.”
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