WA Supreme Court Traveling to Seattle University

Justices of the Washington State Supreme Court will be at Seattle University, February 22 and 23. The visit is part of a travelling court outreach program in which justices travel to two or three communities around Washington each year to hear real cases and talk with community members about the judicial branch. 

On Wednesday, justices will visit classrooms, enjoy lunch with student groups and engage in conversation with SU faculty, leadership and alumni.

On Thursday, the justices will hear oral arguments in three cases (listed below) at Sullivan Hall, Room C5. The public is welcome to attend the oral arguments, which begin at 9 a.m. and will include time for a Q and A with audience members. 

“These kinds of traveling arguments provide a chance to expose people to the work of the courts, something most non-lawyers never have an opportunity to experience,” explains Seattle University President Eduardo Peñalver. “For Seattle University, this visit presents a unique opportunity for our students to interact with this important branch of government and to see brilliant jurists and legal advocates in action.”

School of Law Dean Tony Varona, recently appointed as the co-chair of the Supreme Court's Bar Licensure Task Force, is thrilled the justices will visit campus this week. 

“The Court leads the nation not only in its unprecedented diversity but also in its pathbreaking civil rights and criminal justice decisions. It is no wonder that the Court is celebrated nationally as well as internationally for its forward-looking and innovative jurisprudence.”

The Court sent out the following release on the visit:

Washington Supreme Court justices will visit with students from Seattle University on February 22nd and hear oral arguments in three cases on February 23rd at the Law School in Sullivan Hall Room C5. The public is welcome to attend the oral arguments, which begin at 9 a.m. and will include time for questions from the audience.

The visit is part of a travelling court outreach program in which justices travel to two or three communities around Washington each year to hear real cases and talk with community members about the judicial branch. The justices most recently visited Gonzaga University in October 2022.

“The court is deeply appreciative of the opportunity to hear these cases in local communities across Washington. We know our opinions affect everyone and we welcome the chance to have the public see us do our work in person,” said Supreme Court Chief Justice Steven González. “We also appreciate the opportunity to talk with students, faculty and members of the public. We enjoy answering questions and helping increase understanding of how the court system works.”

On Wednesday, February 22, the Justices will visit a variety of law and undergraduate classes at Seattle University, enjoy lunch with various SU students and groups and engage in conversation with Seattle University faculty, leadership and alumni.

Two Justices, Associate Chief Justice Charles Johnson and Justice G. Helen Whitener are alumni of SU Law.

“We are thrilled to be hosting the Washington Supreme Court for its oral arguments and related events at SU Law,” says SU Law Dean Tony Varona, recently appointed as the co-chair of the Supreme Court’s Bar Licensure Task Force. “The Court leads the nation not only in its unprecedented diversity but also in its pathbreaking civil rights and criminal justice decisions. It is no wonder that the Court is celebrated nationally as well as internationally for its forward-looking and innovative jurisprudence.”

On Thursday, February 23 in Classroom C5 in Sullivan Hall, Chief Justice González and Justices Charles W. Johnson, Barbara A. Madsen, Susan Owens, Debra Stephens, Sheryl Gordon McCloud, Mary Yu, Raquel Montoya-Lewis and G. Helen Whitener will hear oral argument in the following cases:

• 9 a.m. Case No. 101045-1, Madeleine Barlow, Plaintiff, v. State of Washington, DBA Washington State University, Defendant: Whether, in a negligence action arising from a university student’s rape of another student of that university, the defendant university had a special relationship with the victim and a duty to reasonably protect that student from a sexual assault by the offending student when the university was on notice of the offending student’s previous sexual harassment against other students of the university.

• 10 a.m. Case No. 100552-1, In re Personal Restraint Petition of PATRICK LEE SARGENT, Petitioner; (consolidated with 100718-3, State, respondent v. Gonzalez, petitioner: Whether under article I, section 20 of the Washington Constitution, which permits a court in a criminal prosecution to deny bail to a defendant charged with an offense “punishable by the possibility of life in prison” if the court finds the defendant poses a substantial danger, the charged offense is “punishable by the possibility of life in prison” if the offense carries a statutory maximum of life (such as all class A felonies) or only if the specific person accused could actually be punished with life imprisonment under sentencing statutes.

• 10:35 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.:  Q&A with audience.

• 1:30 p.m. Case No. 100992-5, Gonzales and the Washington Landlord Association, et al., petitioners, v. Governor Jay Inslee and State of Washington, respondents:  Whether Governor Inslee exceeded his emergency authority under RCW 43.06.220(1)(h) by issuing a moratorium on residential evictions in response to the COVID-19 public health crisis.

• • 2:10-2:40 p.m. Q&A with audience.

All Washington Supreme Court oral arguments are open to the public, and are livestreamed and recorded by Washington’s Public Affairs network, TVW. Though cameras and video recorders are generally allowed, the Court asks that no flash, other lights or noisy mechanisms be used during the hearings.

For more information on members and the operations of the state Supreme Court and other Washington courts, visit https://www.courts.wa.gov/appellate_trial_courts.