James M. Johnson is a former

Associate Justice Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some sta ...

of the

Washington Supreme Court The Washington Supreme Court is the highest court in the judiciary of the U.S. state of Washington. The court is composed of a chief justice and eight associate justices. Members of the court are elected to six-year terms. Justices must retir ...

. He was first elected to the court in 2004. Johnson graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

with a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

and obtained his J.D. from 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 Seattl ...

. From 1973 to 1993, Johnson worked in the Washington Attorney General's office, during which time he served as Assistant Attorney General responsible for the Fish and Wildlife Division. Johnson served as Washington's first Counsel for the Environment, in this role he led the state's effort to hold hydro and nuclear power generation projects to high environmental and safety standards. Justice Johnson came under political fire after a Supreme Court employee issued a press release critical of Justice Sanders. During a discussion of budget cuts to various court committees, a court employee argued against cutting a court committee dealing with race and alleged that institutional racism in the courts was the sole reason for the statistically greater rate of incarceration amongst blacks in Washington State. Justice Sanders argued that socio-economic forces were responsible and that Washington's Court System was not racist, but instead "...represents convictions for crimes committed rather than railroading innocent men to prison...". Justice Johnson appeared to agree with Justice Sanders' position.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, James M. Living people American jurists Harvard University alumni University of Washington School of Law alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Justices of the Washington Supreme Court