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| Gerry L. Alexander (Incumbent) |
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| Candidate: State Supreme Court, Position 8 |
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| Gerry L. Alexander |
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| Age: 64 |
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| Residence: Olympia |
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| Occupation: |
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Washington state Supreme Court justice |
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| Education: |
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B.A. in history, J.D., University of Washington |
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| Campaign theme: |
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Running for justice. |
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| 1. |
Do you support the current system of electing judges? Why, or why not? |
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Yes. Washington has a strong populist tradition, and I think as a society we are relatively comfortable with an elected judiciary. The system, in my view, has served us well over the years since statehood, and I see no compelling reason to change it. |
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| 2. |
Name a state Supreme Court ruling that you would have joined the majority on and explain why. |
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I am particularly proud of the decision I authored for the court in State v. Femer, 136 Wn.2d 103 (1998). This is a leading case defining the parameters of the protections provided by Article 1, Section 7, of our state constitution to home dwellers against intrusions into their "private affairs." |
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| 3. |
Name one where you would have dissented and explain why. |
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In DeYoung v. Providence Medical Center, I wrote a dissent in which I expressed disagreement with the majority's decision that held unconstitutional a statute that limited the time within which certain medical negligence cases could be brought. I felt strongly that my dissent, which attracted four votes, was correct. |
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| 4. |
Do you think judicial candidates should have more leeway in what they can say in a campaign, or do you support current restrictions? |
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The Judicial Code provisions pertinent to political activity were recently amended to allow candidates greater freedom in what they can say in judicial campaigns. I favor greater liberalization of the rules, provided we retain prohibitions against candidates committing themselves with respect to cases that may come before them as judges. |
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| 5. |
What is the biggest problem facing the state court system and how would you address it? |
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A common complaint against Washington's court system is that it is too slow and too expensive to access. Although our courts have valiantly attempted to keep up with ever-burgeoning civil and criminal caseloads, I fully support our Chief Justice's effort, known as "Courts 2001," as a way of modernizing our system. |
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