Celeste Stokes awarded 2023 WDTL Community Leadership Award Celeste Stokes is the recipient of this year’s Community Leadership Award. My name is Gauri Locker, and I’m the WDTL Community Service Committee Chair. Celeste is my friend, mentor, and coworker, and…
Conclusion of Wn.2d and Beginning of Wn.3d Rob Mead, State Law Librarian Legal publishing in Washington turned to a new chapter on April 18, 2023 with the publication of the first volume of Washington Reports, Third Series. The first case…
King County Superior Court Installs Judicial Service Wall If you haven’t visited the King County Courthouse recently, you might be surprised to find a new court history installation in Courtroom E942. On the back wall are inscribed the names and…
Jefferson County Courthouse – Port Townsend, Washington Jefferson County, created in 1852, initially rented premises in Port Townsend for use as a courthouse. In the late 19th century, the ca. 1874 two-story commercial building still standing downtown at 226 Adams…
Evolution of Voting Rights in Washington State by Leonard Garfield When Isaac Stevens became Washington Territory’s first governor in 1853—one of the earliest signs of American government in our region—no one who lived here cast a vote for him. No…
History of the Temple of Justice by David Peterson & Celeste Stokes In 1911 Walter R. Wilder and Harry K. White, architects from New York, submitted the winning design for a group of buildings to comprise the state Capitol Campus,…
The Courts of the Washington Territory: 1853- 1889 by Gerry L. Alexander, Chief Justice of the Washington State Supreme Court (retired) Prior to 1846, our nation’s claim to the geographical area that later became the Washington Territory was very much…
Second Editions of the Common Law: Bracton, Coke and Blackstone The Washington State Law Library has a large collection of British legal treatises, statutes, and case reporters published between the 1500s and the 1970s. Although we no longer actively collect…
News from the Washington Courts Historical Society The Washington Courts Historical Society (WCHS) was founded by Justice Gerry Alexander and Justice Philip Talmadge, to promote a greater public understanding of the significance of the courts in Washington State history. We…
Columbia County Courthouse – Dayton, Washington The Columbia County Courthouse in Dayton is Washington’s oldest. Completed in 1886 and put into use in 1887, the building is only a few years younger than the county, which was carved from Walla…