Mary Elizabeth Fairhurst (August 13, 1957 — December 28, 2021) was an American attorney and jurist who served as a justice and chief justice 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 retire ...

Early life and education

A native of

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region. Europea ...

, Fairhurst earned her undergraduate degree in political science from

Gonzaga University Gonzaga University (GU) () is a private Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Founded in 1887 by Joseph Cataldo, an Italian-born priest and Jesuit missionary, the ...

in 1979, graduating ''

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

''. In 1984, she earned her

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

from

Gonzaga University School of Law The Gonzaga University School of Law (also known as Gonzaga Law or GU Law) is the professional school for the study of law at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Established in 1912, the Jesuit-affiliated law school has been fully accre ...

, graduating ''

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

''.

Career

Fairhurst served in the

Attorney General of Washington The Attorney General of Washington is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of Washington and head of the Washington State Office of the Attorney General. The attorney general represents clients of the state and defends the public interest i ...

's office under

Christine Gregoire Christine Gregoire (; née O'Grady; born March 24, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 22nd governor of Washington from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, she defeated Republican candidate Dino Rossi in 2004, and ag ...

and

Ken Eikenberry Kenneth Otto Eikenberry (born June 29, 1932) is an American lawyer and politician. Eikenberry was Washington's Attorney General from 1981 to 1993. A Republican, he succeeded Slade Gorton, who went on to represent Washington in the United Sta ...

. Fairhurst worked on a constitutional amendment to increase the rights of crime victims. She also organized statewide conferences on

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for '' intimate partn ...

. Fairhurt joined the

after a successful election in 2003. In 2008, she won re-election against Michael J. Bond. On November 4, 2016, it was announced that Fairhurst had been elected Chief Justice of the Washington State Supreme Court. Fairhurst served as the president of 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 ...

. She also served on the Bar Board of Governors representing Washington's 3rd congressional district and as the President of the Washington Women Lawyers. In October 2018, Fairhurst wrote the majority opinion on a ruling to abolish state's death penalty. In 2019, Fairhurst received the

American Inns of Court American Inns of Court (AIC) are designed to improve the skills, professionalism and ethics of the bench and bar. An American Inn of Court is an amalgam of judges, lawyers, and in some cases, law professors and law students. Each Inn meets approx ...

Professionalism Award for the Ninth Circuit at the Judicial Conference of the Ninth Circuit in Spokane, Washington.

Retirement and death

In October 2019, Fairhurst announced that she would retire from the court in January 2020, citing health concerns. On December 4, 2019, Governor

Jay Inslee Jay Robert Inslee (; born February 9, 1951) is an American politician, lawyer, and economist who has served as the 23rd governor of Washington since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a member of the U.S. House of Represen ...

nominated Raquel Montoya-Lewis to succeed Fairhurst. Montoya-Lewis is the first Native American to serve on the

. In 2020, Fairhurst received the Charles A. Goldmark Distinguished Service Award. On August 22, 2020, Fairhurst became the seventh Lynn Allen Award recipient. Fairhurst died from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

, on December 28, 2021, at the age of 64. She had been treated for

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowe ...

starting in 2008.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fairhurst, Mary 1957 births 2021 deaths 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women judges Chief Justices of the Washington Supreme Court Gonzaga University School of Law alumni Justices of the Washington Supreme Court People from Olympia, Washington Washington (state) Democrats Women chief justices of state supreme courts in the United States

Early life and education

Career

Retirement and death

See also

References