James A. Andersen (September 21, 1924 – May 1, 2022) was an American politician and judge in the state of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, serving as a justice of the

Washington Supreme Court The Washington Supreme Court is the highest court in the judiciary of the U.S. state of Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the ...

from 1984 to 1995. The son of a coal miner, and one himself for a time, Anderson served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

as a combat infantryman in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, where he was wounded in the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...

near

Bastogne Bastogne (; nl, Bastenaken, ; german: Bastnach/Bastenach; lb, Baaschtnech) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Bastogne, ...

."4 new justices make history on high court", ''

Spokane Chronicle The ''Spokane Daily Chronicle'' is a daily digital newspaper in Spokane, Washington. It was founded as a weekly paper in 1881 and grew into an afternoon daily, competing with ''The Spokesman-Review'', which was formed from the merger of two comp ...

'' (January 14, 1985), p. 3. He then attended the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

, receiving his Arts degree in 1949, and law degree from the

University of Washington School of Law The University of Washington School of Law is the law school of the University of Washington, located on the northwest corner of the main campus in Seattle, Washington. The 2023 '' U.S. News & World Report'' law school rankings place Washingt ...

in 1951. Anderson served in the

Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...

from District 48 from 1959 to 1967. In 1968, Anderson was elected as a Republican to the

Washington State Senate The Washington State Senate is the upper house of the Washington State Legislature. The body consists of 49 members, each representing a district with a population of nearly 160,000. The State Senate meets at the Legislative Building in Olympi ...

from the same district, running unopposed. Andersen served in the state senate until 1972. He served in the state legislature for a total of 13 years."Lawyers' group lists choices for high court", ''Spokane Chronicle'' (December 22, 1981), p. 5. From 1975 to 1984, he was a judge on the Court of Appeals, Division One. In 1981, Anderson was named by the

Washington State Bar Association The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) operates under the delegated authority of the Washington Supreme Court to license the state's nearly 41,000 active and inactive lawyers and other legal professionals. In furtherance of its obligation to ...

as one of three choices for a seat on the state supreme court. Following the death of Justice Charles F. Stafford in 1984, Andersen again was named for consideration, and was chosen by Governor

John Spellman John Dennis Spellman (December 29, 1926 – January 16, 2018) was an American politician who served as the 18th governor of Washington from 1981 to 1985 and as the first King County Executive from 1969 to 1981. Spellman was elected governor in ...

for appointment to the seat. He then ran unopposed in the 1984 election to retain office. From July 9, 1984 to January 9, 1995, he was a justice of the

, including a stint as chief justice in 1993. Anderson announced his resignation from the court in 1994, taking effect in 1995. Andersen married Billiette, with whom he had two children. He died on May 1, 2022, at the age of 97.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Andersen, James 1924 births 2022 deaths Chief Justices of the Washington Supreme Court Republican Party members of the Washington House of Representatives Republican Party Washington (state) state senators People from Pullman, Washington University of Washington School of Law alumni People from Auburn, Washington United States Army personnel of World War II Military personnel from Washington (state)