Mary Fairhurst

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Mary Fairhurst

| office = Chief Justice of the Washington Supreme Court

| term_start = January 9, 2017

| term_end = January 5, 2020

| predecessor = Barbara Madsen

| successor = Debra L. Stephens

| office1 = Associate Justice of the Washington Supreme Court

| term_start1 = January 13, 2003

| term_end1 = January 5, 2020

| predecessor1 = Charles Z. Smith

| successor1 = Raquel Montoya-Lewis

| birth_name = Mary Elizabeth Fairhurst

| birth_date = {{birth date|1957|08|13}}

| birth_place = Pendleton, Oregon, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2021|12|28|1957|08|13}}

| death_place = Olympia, Washington, U.S.

| party = Democratic

| education = Gonzaga University (BA, JD)

| partner = Bob Douglas

}}

Mary Elizabeth Fairhurst{{cite news |title=Retired Washington Supreme Court Justice Mary E. Fairhurst passes away at 64 |url=https://www.courts.wa.gov/newsinfo/?fa=newsinfo.internetdetail&newsid=48384 |access-date=December 29, 2021 |publisher=Washington Courts |date=December 29, 2021}} (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.{{citation|url=http://justicemaryfairhurst.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=27|title=Re-Elect Justice Mary Fairhurst - About Mary|access-date=August 2, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316174301/http://justicemaryfairhurst.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=27|archive-date=March 16, 2012|url-status=dead}}

Early life and education

A native of Olympia, Washington, Fairhurst earned her undergraduate degree in political science from Gonzaga University in 1979, graduating cum laude.{{Cite web |title=Thoughts and Prayers for the Honorable Mary Fairhurst {{!}} Gonzaga University |url=https://www.gonzaga.edu/about/president-leadership/messages-media/2021/thoughts-and-prayers-for-the-honorable-mary-fairhurst |access-date=2023-03-17 |website=www.gonzaga.edu}} In 1984, she earned her Juris Doctor from Gonzaga University School of Law, graduating magna cum laude.

Career

Fairhurst served in the Attorney General of Washington's office under Christine Gregoire and Ken Eikenberry. Fairhurst worked on a constitutional amendment to increase the rights of crime victims. She also organized statewide conferences on domestic violence.

Fairhurt joined the Washington Supreme Court 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.{{cite news|url=http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/mary-fairhurst-elected-chief-justice-of-state-supreme-court/|title=Mary Fairhurst elected chief justice of state Supreme Court|date=November 4, 2016|newspaper=The Seattle Times}}{{cite web|url=http://www.courts.wa.gov/appellate_trial_courts/supreme/bios/?fa=scbios.display_file&fileID=Fairhurst|title=Washington State Courts - Supreme Court Bios - Justice Mary E. Fairhurst|date=|publisher=Courts.wa.gov|accessdate=August 31, 2011}}

Fairhurst served as the president of the Washington State Bar Association.{{Cite web|url=https://www.courts.wa.gov/appellate_trial_courts/supreme/bios/?fa=scbios.display_file&fileID=Fairhurst|title=Washington State Courts - Supreme Court Bios - Chief Justice Mary E. Fairhurst|website=www.courts.wa.gov|access-date=December 5, 2019}} 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.{{Bluebook journal |first=|last=Note|title=Recent Case: Washington State Supreme Court Declares Death Penalty Unconstitutional In Washington|volume=132|

journal=Harv. L. Rev.|page=1764|url=https://harvardlawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1764-1771_Online.pdf|year=2019}}{{cite court|litigants=State v. Gregory|vol=427|reporter=P.3d|opinion= 621|court=Wash.|date=2018|url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=8854659891232700142|accessdate=}} In 2019, Fairhurst received the American Inns of Court Professionalism Award for the Ninth Circuit at the Judicial Conference of the Ninth Circuit in Spokane, Washington.{{Cite web |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chief-justice-mary-e-fairhurst-131500267.html |title=Chief Justice Mary e. Fairhurst to Receive the 2019 American Inns of Court Professionalism Award for the Ninth Circuit |access-date=July 29, 2019 |archive-date=July 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190729232215/https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chief-justice-mary-e-fairhurst-131500267.html |url-status=dead }}

Retirement and death

In October 2019, Fairhurst announced that she would retire from the court in January 2020, citing health concerns.{{Cite web|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/washington-supreme-court-chief-justice-mary-fairhurst-will-retire-to-focus-on-her-health/|title=Washington Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary Fairhurst will retire to focus on her health|date=October 3, 2019|website=The Seattle Times|language=en-US|access-date=December 5, 2019}} On December 4, 2019, Governor Jay Inslee nominated Raquel Montoya-Lewis to succeed Fairhurst. Montoya-Lewis is the first Native American to serve on the Washington Supreme Court.{{Cite web|url=https://www.king5.com/article/news/politics/washington-supreme-court-chief-justice-mary-fairhurst-retire/281-d430a957-f98f-4c05-b529-e33384c1cab0|title=Washington Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary Fairhurst to retire after colon cancer diagnosis|website=KING|date=October 3, 2019 |access-date=December 5, 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2019/dec/04/inslee-appoints-raquel-montoya-lewis-a-former-trib/|title=Raquel Montoya-Lewis named as first Native American to Washington Supreme Court {{!}} The Spokesman-Review|website=www.spokesman.com|access-date=December 5, 2019}}

In 2020, Fairhurst received the Charles A. Goldmark Distinguished Service Award.https://legalfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Award-History-and-Recipients_rev-2019-1.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}} On August 22, 2020, Fairhurst became the seventh Lynn Allen Award recipient.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nwprogressive.org/weblog/2020/08/mary-fairhurst-honored-with-lynn-allen-award-at-npis-summer-anniversary-picnic.html|title=Mary Fairhurst honored with Lynn Allen Award at NPI's Summer Anniversary Picnic|date=August 24, 2020|website=NPI's Cascadia Advocate}}

Fairhurst died from cancer in Olympia, Washington, on December 28, 2021, at the age of 64.{{cite news | newspaper=The News Tribune | last=Sowersby | first=Shauna | date=December 29, 2021 | title=Former Chief Justice of Washington Supreme Court has died of cancer at 64 | url=https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article256922692.html}} She had been treated for colon cancer starting in 2008.