Richard Sanders

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Richard Sanders
Current Court Information:
Title:	Judicial candidate
Position:	Position 9
Service:
Active:	1995-2010
Succeeded by:	Charlie Wiggins
Personal History
Bachelors:	University of Washington
Law School:	University of Washington School of Law
Candidate 2012:
Candidate for:	Washington Supreme Court
State:	Washington
Election information 2012:
Incumbent:	No
Primary date:	August 7, 2012
Primary vote:	27.48%a

Richard B. Sanders was a justice on the Washington Supreme Court. Sanders was first elected to the Supreme Court by special election in 1995. In 1998 and in 2004 he was he was re-elected to serve six year terms each. His term expired in 2010.

2012 election

Sanders is running for position 9 on the Washington Supreme Court. This seat is held by retiring Justice Tom Chambers. He will advance from the primary election on August 7 after winning 27.48% of the vote. He will compete against Sheryl McCloud in the general election on November 6, 2012. ^{[1] [2]}

See also: Washington judicial elections, 2012

Ratings

• Rated as Qualified by the Justice for Washington Foundation ^[3]
• Rated as Well Qualified by the King County Bar Association ^[4]

Education

Sanders received his B.A. from the University of Washington and his J.D. in 1969 from the University of Washington School of Law. ^[5]

Career

Sanders was an attorney in private practice before joining the Washington Supreme Court in 1995.^[6]

Awards and Associations

• Honorary Membership, University of Washington Law Review
• Law Day Liberty Bell Award
• Champion of Justice Award, Washington Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys
• Walter C. Woodward Freedom's Light Award, Washington Newspaper Publishers
• Adjunct professor, University of Washington School of Law
• Visiting professor, Seattle University ^[6]

Mukasey "tyrant" incident

On November 20, 2008, U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey gave a speech at the annual Federalist Society gathering in Washington, D.C. Mukasey collapsed during the speech. Just before Mukasey's collapse, Sanders stood up and yelled at him, "Tyrant. You are a tyrant." Justice Sanders confirmed this to online journalist Malkin, "The program provided no opportunity for questions or response, and I felt compelled to speak out. I stood up, and said, 'tyrant,' and then left the meeting. No one else said anything. I believe we must speak our conscience in moments that demand it, even if we are but one voice."^[7] According to the Seattle Times, Justice Sanders' reason for doing so was "Mukasey's defense of the Bush Administration's counter-terrorism policies, particularly with respect to detainment policies and Geneva Convention interpretations, that solicited the outburst."^[8][9]

Elections

2010

Main article: Washington judicial elections, 2010

Sanders ran for re-election to the court in 2010. He was defeated by Charlie Wiggins, winning only 49.66% of the vote. ^{[10][11] [12][13][14][15]}

• Read Sanders' Washington State Voters' Guide here.

Campaign fundraising

According to filings with the Public Disclosure Commission, Sanders has raised $37,531 for his campaign as of May 2010. By contrast, Wiggins has raised $41,970 for his campaign. ^[16]

2004

In this election, Sanders defeated Terry Sebring, winning 61.03% of the vote. ^[17]

In his 2004 campaign, the Sanders campaign raised $190,559. The top three sectors in terms of who donated to his campaign were "Lawyers and Lobbyists" with $39,915 raised, General Contractors, with $23,300 raised, and "Home Builders", with $16,190.^[18]

Notable decisions

Same-sex marriage

In July 2006, the Washington Supreme Court determined in a 5 to 4 decision to uphold the state's Defense of Marriage Act. Of the six opinions issued, Sanders concurred with James Johnson in expressing that there exists, "a compelling governmental interest in preserving the institution of marriage."^[19]

Public disclosure

• Sanders wrote the majority opinion in the January 15, 2009 ruling, Yousoufian v. Office of the King County Executive, which held that a lower court had not assessed a high enough fine on King County for what the high court said was the county's "blatant" and "egregious" violations of Washington's sunshine laws. On April 1, 2009, King County asked the court to re-hear the case. The county alleged that Sanders was prejudiced in his opinion about the case because at the same time he wrote the ruling, Sanders had a public-records lawsuit pending in Thurston County. King County Chief Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kevin Wright said, "A justice may not define the scope of rights under state law while simultaneously seeking to personally benefit from that law in other litigation."^[20] Sanders denies wrongdoing. He consulted with the court's ethics attorney before hearing Yousoufian. Sanders also says that he will not financially benefit from any additional fines imposed in the Thurston case, so that he does not have a financial conflict-of-interest. Seattle lawyer Thomas Fitzpatrick, a member of a committee that reviews the canons of the state's Code of Judicial Conduct, said Sanders does not have the type of financial interest in the Yousofian case that would have constrained him for hearing it. "He's not a party or related to a party in the case. To me, this is the kind of situation where [a judge] may want to think long and hard about it. But I don't think it's a violation of the canons."^[20]

External links

• Official Campaign website
• Justice Richard B. Sanders website
• Washington Courts: Richard Sanders
• Richard Sanders on Vote Smart
• The Seattle Times, "3 Wash. Supreme Court justices seek re-election", July 24, 2010
• Follow the Money: Richard Sanders 2004
• The Washington Supreme Court blog, an unofficial blog that covers the Washington State Supreme Court and its justices
• The Seattle Times, "Supreme Court candidates Sanders, Wiggins spar in Seattle debate," September 28, 2010

References

v • d • e Washington Supreme Court
Current	Charles W. Johnson  •  Debra Stephens  •  Barbara Madsen  •  Mary Fairhurst  •  Tom Chambers  •  Susan Owens  •  James Johnson  •  Steven Gonzalez  •  Charlie Wiggins  •
Former	Gerry Alexander  •  Richard Sanders  •  William H. Williams  •  William C. Goodloe  •  Bobbe Bridge  •