Former Washington Supreme Court Justice Susan Owens, who retired from her 44-year judicial career at the end of December, passed away Friday morning, March 28. She was 75.
According to a release from the Washington State Courts, Justice Owens was visiting family in California.
“Justice Owens was a true original and a good friend. Though she had been in declining health recently, she never lost her wit, her humor and her strong sense of justice,” said Washington Supreme Court Chief Justice Debra Stephens on Friday in the release. “The world will not be the same without her in it.”
“Susan made a positive difference in people’s lives, on and off the bench. She was so genuine and easy to love. Her family, friends and the people she touched through her work and in the community will feel her loss deeply,” said Washington Supreme Court Justice Barbara Madsen, who was on the Court in 2000 when Owens became a justice.
As stated in the Washington State Courts release, Owens was elected to the state Supreme Court in the November 2000 general election, becoming the seventh woman to serve on the Court. Before the election, she had served for 19 years as a judge on the Clallam County District Court and was the first woman to serve on that court when she was appointed to a new part-time judicial position in 1981, and then elected to six terms.
Washington State Courts added the following:
“Owens was a champion of rural and tribal courts, founding the Rural Courts Committee of Washington’s District and Municipal Court Judges’ Association (DMCJA). She taught on the subject of rural courts at the state’s Judicial College. She had also served as a part-time chief judge for both the Quileute Tribe for five years, and the Lower Elwha S’Klallam Tribe for more than six years. As a Supreme Court justice, she became active on Washington’s Tribal State Court Consortium.
Another focus of Owens’ career was improving judicial education on domestic violence cases. In her time on the district court bench, she found the cases were prevalent, and the same people and situations kept returning again and again. There was little education for judges in understanding or handling these cases, and ‘people were being injured,’ Owens said in 2024 just before her retirement. ‘It needed changing. We all needed education.’
She joined numerous committees to gain knowledge, then became a national trainer on the topic. She lectured at the National College of Prosecuting Attorneys’ Domestic Violence Conference, and co-authored the Northwest Tribal Judges Domestic Violence Manual.
Now with a great deal more education available for judicial officers, benchbooks that are regularly updated, numerous tools for survivors, and treatment options for offenders, ‘it’s 200 percent better than it used to be,’ Owens said in 2024.”
She also became the first woman on the Supreme Court to serve until the mandatory judicial retirement age of 75. She was remembered by her colleagues as someone who would “help everyone who comes through the door.”
Justice Stephens confirmed that the Supreme Court will be planning a memorial for Owens.
Justice Owens’ career timeline, shared from the Washington State Courts:
1971 – Graduated from Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
1975 – Earned J.D. from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
1975 – Admitted to Oregon Bar
1976 – Admitted to the Washington Bar
1976 – Moved to Port Angeles, worked as a Legal Aid attorney, one of the first women attorneys working in the county.
1981 – Appointed by Clallam County Commissioners to a new part-time judge position on the Clallam County District Court
1982 – Elected to the new judge position, and subsequently re-elected to five additional terms.
1987 – Accepted position as part-time chief judge for Quileute Tribe, and later accepted position on Lower Elwha S’Klallam Tribal Court.
1990 – 2000 – Active in District and Municipal Court Judges’ Association (DMCJA), serving as board member, secretary-treasurer, vice president, and president-elect prior to joining the Supreme Court. Co-founded DMCJA Rural Courts Committee.
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