Temple of Justice

News about recent website updates will appear below.  See About for general information.

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This website is not sponsored by, nor affiliated in any way with, the Washington State Supreme Court.  Although much of the information on the website was obtained from the Supreme Court’s records, the Supreme Court does not control the subsequent use of court information and accordingly does not guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of the information that appears on this website.  The Supreme Court does not endorse the website, its sponsors or benefactors, any views expressed on the website, or any products or services offered on it.  The Supreme Court takes no part in any solicitation of funds associated with the website.

In 2009 the Court decided 120 cases.  59 were decided by unanimous decision while 17 were decided by a bare majority 5-4 vote.  Among the Court’s most noteworthy decisions, it applied a flexible and purposive reading to statutory requirements regarding the initiative and referendum process, delivered a significant opinion applying the political question doctrine to an action seeking to compel the president of the Senate to forward a bill to the House of Representatives, and ruled that the right to counsel guaranteed by the Washington State Constitution is more expansive than the right to counsel guaranteed by the United States Constitution.

Details are now posted on the Annual Summary of Decisions page, including summaries of the ten most noteworthy decisions of 2009.

The following TVW broadcast features debates between Supreme Court Justice Jim Johnson and challenger Stan Rumbaugh, as well as Justice Richard Sanders and challenger Charlie Wiggins.

Since our website is built from a database of Washington Supreme Court cases, we can easily generate a variety of reports.  For example, we recently published a set of 2009 Decision Data, including a new thumbnail view of 2009 Decision Data by Vote.  More reporting options will be coming later this year.

Our complete list of Upcoming Arguments includes the following recent changes to the Court’s docket: Read more…

Welcome to the BETA release of the new Temple of Justice Project, a joint effort of The Oyez Project and the Thomas S. Foley Institute at Washington State University to provide highlights of the history and work of the Washington State Supreme Court.

This website is still under major construction, with work being supported through a generous grant from the George and Joan Berry Family Excellence Fund.  The estimated launch date for the complete website is summer 2010.  In the meantime, feel free to explore, send us feedback, and learn more About the Project.

Temple of Justice, 1912-1920