Steven González

Steven Charles González (born 1963) is an American lawyer and judge who has served as the Chief Justice of the Washington Supreme Court since January 11, 2021. He was appointed as an Associate Justice by Governor Christine Gregoire and took office on January 1, 2012. González replaced Justice Gerry L. Alexander, who retired upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75.

Steven González
Chief Justice of the Washington Supreme Court
Incumbent
Assumed office January 11, 2021
Preceded by	Debra L. Stephens
Associate Justice of the Washington Supreme Court
Incumbent
Assumed office January 1, 2012
Appointed by	Christine Gregoire
Preceded by	Gerry L. Alexander
Personal details
Born	1963 (age 57–58) California, U.S.
Alma mater	Pitzer College (BA) University of California, Berkeley (JD)
Academic work
Discipline	Constitutional law
Institutions	Gonzaga University School of Law

Biography

Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, González is descended on his father's side from refugees from the Mexican Revolution; his maternal ancestors immigrated at the turn of the 20th century from eastern Europe. González was raised by his mother, who is Jewish,[1] and for a time his paternal grandmother cleaned the dorms at his alma mater.[2]

González graduated with honors from Pitzer College in Claremont, California, with a Bachelor of Arts in East Asian studies in 1985. While at Pitzer, he studied abroad at Waseda University in Tokyo and Nanjing University in China.[3] He worked as a paralegal in Century City after graduation from college. Before law school, González received a Rotary International scholarship to study international trade in Japan for 21 months. After studying economics at Hokkaido University,[4] he enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, where he earned his J.D. and met his wife, Michelle Gonzalez. After graduating in 1991, Gonzalez passed the Washington State bar exam and was admitted to practice in November 1991.

González is fluent in English, Japanese and Spanish, and knows some Chinese.

After a career in private practice, González served as an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Seattle, where he prosecuted domestic violence cases including cases of elder and child abuse. He then served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington from 1997 to 2002. In March 2002 Governor Gary Locke appointed him a King County Superior Court Judge. He won a contested primary that September, and was reelected unopposed to four-year terms in 2004 and 2008.[5]

González's cousin is musician Ben Harper.[6]

Legal career

González has worked in both criminal and civil law. While in private practice, he worked as an Associate in the Business Law Department of Hillis Clark Martin & Peterson in Seattle.[7] He then served as a Domestic Violence Prosecutor for the City of Seattle in 1996 and 1997 and as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Western District of Washington from 1997 to 2002,[8] during which time he was part of the team that successfully prosecuted the international terrorism case US vs Ressam.[9] He received the U.S. Attorney General's Award for Distinguished Service and the Director's Award for Superior Performance for his work on the case.[7] González has served on the board of directors of El Centro de la Raza and the steering committee of the Northwest Minority Job Fair.[10]

Judicial career

In 2012, Governor Christine Gregoire appointed González to the Washington Supreme Court.[11] He replaced Justice Gerry L. Alexander, who retired upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75.[12][2] Before joining the Supreme Court, González served on the Washington State Access to Justice Board for seven years, including two as Chair. He chairs the Washington Interpreter Commission and the Court's Security and Technology Committees.[13] On November 6, 2020, González was elected to be Chief Justice by his peer, effective January 11, 2021.[14]

González has received “Judge of the Year” awards from the Washington State Bar Association, the Washington Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates and the Asian Bar Association of Washington. He also received the Vanguard Award from the King County Chapter of Washington Women Lawyers and the Exceptional Member Award from the Latina/o Bar Association of Washington.[15] Beginning in 2017, he taught state constitutional law at Gonzaga University School of Law.[16]

In October 2018, González concurred in the result when the court abolished the state's death penalty because they found its racist imposition violated the Constitution of Washington.[17][18]

Electoral history

After being appointed to the King County Superior Court, González was elected to the bench in 2002 and reelected in 2004 and 2008.[19] In 2012, he was elected to a full six-year term on the Washington State Supreme Court, Position 8, with nearly 60% of the vote. At that time, judicial elections occurred in the primary.[20] The election was the subject of significant news coverage due to González's opponent's lack of qualifications and Central Washington's racially polarized voting patterns.[21][22][23][24] During the election, he was rated “Exceptionally Well Qualified” by the King County Bar Association and other bar associations.[25]

González was reelected to the Washington State Supreme Court in 2018.[26] On November 5, 2020, he was elected by his peers to serve as chief justice. He took office as chief justice on January 11, 2021.[27]

References

1. Holden, Dominic (June 21, 2012). "The Better Unleavened Bread". The Stranger. Archived from the original on August 25, 2012. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
2. "King County judge named to state Supreme Court". The Seattle Times. 2011-11-16. Archived from the original on 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
3. "Steve Gonzalez". Archived from the original on 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
4. "Justice Steven C. González". Archived from the original on 2020-05-04. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
5. "Office of the Washington Governor, Press Release: "Gov. Gregoire appoints Supreme Court Justice," November 15, 2011". Archived from the original on January 27, 2012. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
6. "Vote for Ben Harper's Cousin for State Supreme Court". Archived from the original on 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
7. "Justice Steven González".
8. "New state Supreme Court justice has unique connection to North Olympic Peninsula". Archived from the original on 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
9. http://tudecidesmedia.com/our-pride-gov-gregoire-appoints-judge-steven-gonzalez-to-the-washington-s-p2800-128.html "Judge Steve Gonzalez" Check |url= value (help).
10. "Steven Gonzalez". Archived from the original on 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
11. "State Supreme Court Jjustice speaking Youth justice forum". Archived from the original on 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
12. "King County Superior Court Judge Steven Gonzalez Is Washington's Newest Supreme Court Justice". The Stranger. Archived from the original on 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
13. "Washington State Courts - Supreme Court Bios - Justice Steven C. González". www.courts.wa.gov. Archived from the original on 2020-05-04. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
14. "Steven González will be next chief justice of Supreme Court". HeraldNet.com. November 6, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
15. "Wash. State Supreme Court Justice Steven C. Gonzalez Receives Difference Makers Award from the ABA Solo, Small Firm and General Practice Division « ABA News Archives". www.americanbar.org. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
16. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2021-01-11.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
17. Note, Recent Case: Washington State Supreme Court Declares Death Penalty Unconstitutional In Washington, 132 Harv. L. Rev. 1764 (2019).
18. State v. Gregory, 427 P.3d 621 (Wash. 2018).
19. "Latino Judge Makes History in Washington State". Fox News. 2011-11-16. Archived from the original on 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
20. "Washington judicial elections, 2012 - Ballotpedia". Archived from the original on 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
21. S, Eli; ers. "Does His Name Sound Too Mexican?". The Stranger. Archived from the original on 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
22. "Bruce Danielson Can't Really Explain How He Got Over 276,000 Votes Last Night. (But He Says I'm "Ill Informed or Malicious" for Asking.)". The Stranger. Archived from the original on 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
23. "Justice Gonzalez's win raises questions about role of ethnicity". The Seattle Times. 2012-08-08. Archived from the original on 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
24. "Op-ed: Steve Gonzalez campaign shows that race still matters". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
25. "Steven Gonzalez - Ballotpedia". Archived from the original on 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
26. "Campaign Finance Information at the PDC". www.pdc.wa.gov. Archived from the original on 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
27. "Washington State Courts - News, Reports, Court Information". www.courts.wa.gov. Retrieved 2021-01-11.