Richard P. Guy
{{Short description|American judge (born 1932)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|honorific-prefix = The Honorable
|name = Richard P. Guy
|honorific-suffix =
|image =
|imagesize =
|smallimage =
|caption =
|order =
|office = Justice of the Washington Supreme Court
|appointer= Governor Booth Gardner
|term_start = {{Start date|1989}}
|term_end = {{End date|2001}}
|president =
|succeeding =
|predecessor = Vernon Pearson
|successor =
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1932|10|24}}
|birth_place = Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
|death_date =
|death_place =
|restingplace =
|restingplacecoordinates =
|birthname =
|nationality = American
|party =
|spouse =
|relations =
|children =
|residence = Spokane, Washington
|alma_mater = Gonzaga University (B.A., J.D.)
|occupation = {{hlist|judge}}
|profession =
|cabinet =
|committees =
|portfolio =
|religion =
|awards =
|signature =
|website =
|footnotes =
}}
Richard P. Guy (born October 24, 1932) is an American attorney who was a justice of the Washington Supreme Court from 1989 to 2001, serving as chief justice from 1998 to 2001.
Early life and education
Guy was born on October 24, 1932, in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, to Richard H. and Charlotte M. Guy. He attended Gonzaga University and graduated with a B.A. degree.{{cite web|title=Heritage Society Honor Roll|url=https://www.gonzaga.edu/Campus-Resources/Offices-and-Services-A-Z/University-Relations/Giving/Donor-Appreciation/Heritage-Society/hs-honor-roll.asp|publisher=Gonzaga University|accessdate=June 7, 2017}} He then obtained a J.D. from Gonzaga University School of Law in 1959, while clerking for Spokane attorney and court commissioner, Kathleen Taft.{{cite news|last1=Lalley|first1=Heather|title=Raising the bar|url=http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2005/may/15/raising-the-bar/|accessdate=June 7, 2017|work=Spokesman Review (Spokane, WA)|date=May 15, 2005}}
Legal and judicial career
In 1961, he accepted a position with the Spokane County Prosecutor's Office, where he was both a civil deputy and chief criminal deputy prosecuting attorney. In 1967, he worked with the U.S. Agency for International Development on projects in West Africa and Ethiopia. During his career, he was also assistant attorney general for the state of Washington, and counsel to the speaker of the state House of Representatives. In 1981, he entered private practice and was a principal at Winston & Cashatt in Spokane, Washington.
He was a judge of the Spokane County Superior Court for four years: from 1977 to 1981, and again in 1985.{{cite web|last1=Donohue|first1=Michael E.|title=History of Judges of the Spokane County Superior Court 1889 – Present|url=https://www.spokanecounty.org/DocumentCenter/Home/View/3783|website=SpokaneCounty.org|accessdate=June 7, 2017}} In October 1989, Governor Booth Gardner appointed Guy as a justice of the Washington Supreme Court.{{cite news|title=Richard Guy Sworn In As High Court Justice|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19900210/1055282/richard-guy-sworn-in-as-high-court-justice|access-date=June 6, 2017|work=Seattle Times|date=February 10, 1990}}{{cite news|last1=Mercier|first1=Jason|title=We need to change the way we elect our Supreme Court justices|url=http://www.washingtonpolicy.org/publications/detail/we-need-to-change-the-way-we-elect-our-supreme-court-justices|accessdate=June 6, 2017|work=Washington Policy Center|date=November 20, 2014}} In November 1990, Guy stood for election for the four years remaining on the term, defeating former Republican Governor John Spellman.{{cite news|last1=Robinson|first1=Herb|title=A Familiar Face, Lots Of Experience|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19900629/1079676/a-familiar-face-lots-of-experience|access-date=June 7, 2017|work=Seattle Times|date=June 29, 1990}}{{cite news|last1=Connelly|first1=Joel|title=Washington voters: No retreads, Seattle mayors|url=http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2012/08/08/washington-voters-no-retreads-seattle-mayors/|accessdate=June 7, 2017|work=Seattle Post Intelligencer|date=August 8, 2012}} In 1994, Guy successfully ran against King County public defender Kevin Patrick Dolan, and was elected to a six year term.{{cite news|title=SUPREME COURT: Justice Guy wins close race with Dolan|url=http://web.kitsapsun.com/archive/1994/09-21/298658_supreme_court__justice_guy_wins.html|accessdate=June 7, 2017|work=Kitsap Sun|agency=Associated Press|publisher=USA Today|date=September 21, 1994}}{{cite news|title=State’s First Female Chief Justice Wants Innovation, Reform|url=http://www.spokesman.com/stories/1995/jan/10/states-first-female-chief-justice-wants/|accessdate=June 7, 2017|work=Spokesman Review|agency=Associated Press|date=January 10, 1995}} In 2000, Guy chaired a study on the death penalty that documented its high costs.{{cite journal|last1=Collins|first1=Peter A.|last2=Boruchowitz|first2=Robert C.|last3=Hickman|first3=Matthew J.|last4=Larrañaga|first4=Mark A.|title=An Analysis of the Economic Costs of Seeking the Death Penalty in Washington State|journal=Seattle Journal for Social Justice|date=Spring 2016|volume=14|issue=3|page=730}} citing Chief Justice Richard P. Guy, [https://www.courts.wa.gov/newsinfo/content/deathpenalty/deathpenalty.pdf Status Report on the Death Penalty in Washington State] (March 2000).
After leaving the bench in 2001, Guy worked as a mediator and arbitrator in Honolulu, Hawaii and Seattle. Guy has also taught law in Italy.{{cite web|title=Entry for Richard Guy|url=http://dprhawaii.com/d.aspx?nid=30|publisher=Dispute Prevention and Resolution|accessdate=June 7, 2017}}
Honors and awards
Guy is recipient of several honors, including: the Herbert Harley Award from the American Judicature Society, and the Outstanding Judge Award (in 2000) from the Washington State Bar Association.{{cite web|title=Outstanding Judge Award-2004|url=http://wsba.org/~/media/Files/News_Events/Awards/Past%20Annual%20Award%20Recipients.ashx|publisher=Washington State Bar Association}} In addition, he was recognized as the Jurist of the Year by the American Board of Trial Advocates. He has been acclaimed by his alma mater, Gonzaga Law School: in 1993, he received an Honorary Doctor of Laws; in 2001, he received the Distinguished Legal Service Award; and, in 2017, he was conferred the Gonzaga Law Medal.{{cite web|title=Distinguished Legal Service Award|url=https://www.law.gonzaga.edu/alumni/awards/legal-service/|publisher=Gonzaga Law School|accessdate=June 7, 2017}}{{cite web|title=2017 School of Law Commencement|url=https://www.gonzaga.edu/campus-resources/offices-and-services-a-z/university-events/commencement/Law/Law%20School%202017%20FINAL.pdf|publisher=Gonzaga Law School|accessdate=June 7, 2017|page=4|date=May 30, 2017}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{succession box
|title=Justice of the Washington Supreme Court
|before=Vernon Pearson
|after=
|years=1989–2001}}
{{s-end}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guy, Richard P.}}
Category:Gonzaga University alumni
Category:Gonzaga University School of Law alumni
Category:Lawyers from Spokane, Washington
Category:20th-century American lawyers
Category:20th-century American judges