Inslee Appoints Pierce County Superior Court Judge to State Supreme Court
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Inslee appoints Pierce County Superior Court judge to state Supreme Court By Alexis Krell The News Tribune April 13, 2020 02:58 PM, Updated April 13, 2020 06:27 PM A Pierce County judge will be the next state Supreme Court justice, the governor announced Monday. Superior Court Judge G. Helen Whitener will replace Justice Charles Wiggins, who retired in March. “Judge Whitener inspires lawyers and non-lawyers alike with her relentless work to raise awareness for matters of race, justice and equity,” Gov. Jay Inslee said in a press release. “She is tireless in her commitment to building a justice system that works for all, and as a Supreme Court justice, she will have an even greater platform to promote justice for everyone in Washington state. I am very pleased to appoint her to this bench and I look forward to her many contributions to our state for years to come.” Inslee appointed Whitener to the Superior Court bench in 2015 and she later was re- elected. “Her name and her talents are not new to me,” Inslee said at a press conference Monday. “She has distinguished herself in a relatively rapid period of time. ... This is a community-minded judge and will be a community-minded justice.” Prior to the Superior Court, Whitener was a judge on the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals for two years. She also had her own law firm in Pierce County and has worked as a deputy prosecutor and public defender. She handled criminal cases for 14 years as a prosecutor and defense attorney, the governor’s press release said. Whitener moved to the United States from Trinidad as a teenager for college. She earned her law degree at Seattle University and a bachelor’s degree at Baruch College in New York. She told reporters at the press conference it’s an honor to be appointed to the seat Wiggins held, and she looks forward to serving with the other justices, “even though for the immediate future I’ll be joining them in the virtual work environment.” Chief Justice Debra L. Stephens said in a statement she plans to swear Judge Whitener in without ceremony as soon as possible, and that plans for a public ceremony will be postponed in response to the pandemic. “Judge Whitener’s reputation for excellence precedes her, and I know she will serve the people of Washington well in her new role as a justice,” Stephens wrote. In addition to her swearing-in ceremony, Whitener said a class she teaches at Lincoln High School in Tacoma had to be interrupted due to the pandemic. Speaking to students she has taught and mentored, Whitener said at the press conference: “Know just as others believed in me, I believe in you. So continue to study and continue to be safe.” Pierce County Superior Court Judge G. Helen Whitener was appointed Monday as the next state Supreme Court justice. Courtesy photo Whitener co-chairs the state’s Minority and Justice Commission and is part of the Civil Legal Aid Oversight Committee. Last year she received the Excellence in Diversity APEX Award from the state bar. “That’s because Judge Whitener is a tenacious, fearless, and compassionate advocate of human rights for all, and she has opened pathways and opportunities for many communities,” bar president Rajeev Majumdar said in the release. “While many know her for her work in Pierce County, I can personally attest to her traveling statewide to inspire and mentor youth from underrepresented backgrounds into the legal profession. Now the entire state will benefit from her human-centered and dignified pursuit of justice.” The APEX award is the bar’s “highest honor for someone in the legal community dedicated to championing diversity and justice,” Majumdar said. Other honors Whitener received last year include the Washington State Bar Association’s C.Z. Smith Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award, the King County Washington Women Lawyers President Award, the Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association’s Diversity Award and the Seattle University School of Law’s Woman of the Year Award, according to the governor’s press release. “Judge Whitener’s diligence and hard work as a Judge, and her deep appreciation for the equal rights of all litigants in her court have added so much to the justice system in Pierce County,” Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association president James McCormick said in the release. “She will continue a tradition of great Justices from Pierce County. Our loss will be the state’s great gain.” Pierce County Superior Court Judge G. Helen Whitener speaks during a news conference, Monday, April 13, 2020, at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Whitener was appointed Monday by Gov. Jay Inslee to the Washington Supreme Court to replace Justice Charles Wiggins, who retired from the court at the end of March. Ted S. Warren AP Alexis Krell 253-597-8268 Alexis Krell covers local, state and federal court cases that affect Pierce County. She started covering courts in 2016. Before that she wrote about crime and breaking news for almost four years as The News Tribune’s night reporter. Read more here: https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article241983986.html#storylink=cpy .