Carolyn Joyce Reaber Dimmick (born October 24, 1929) is a
senior
Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to:
* Senior (name), a surname ...
United States district judge
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...
of the
.
Education and career
Dimmick was born in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
. She received a
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
degree from the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
in 1951 and a
Juris Doctor
A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...
from the
University of Washington School of Law
The University of Washington School of Law is the law school of the University of Washington, located on the northwest corner of the main campus in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington. The school is fully accredited by the American Bar Asso ...
in 1953. She was an assistant state attorney general of Washington from 1953 to 1954, and was a deputy prosecuting attorney of
King County
King County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 12th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle ...
, Washington from 1955 to 1959 and from 1960 to 1962. She was in private practice of law in Seattle from 1959 to 1960 and again from 1962 to 1965. She was a state court judge on the Northeast District Court, King County, Washington from 1965 to 1975, then a superior court judge of the King County Superior Court from 1976 to 1980, and finally a justice of the
Washington Supreme Court
The Washington Supreme Court is the highest court in the judiciary of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The court is composed of a chief justice and eight associate justices. Members of the court are elected to six-year terms. ...
from 1981 to 1985. She was the first woman to sit on the Washington Supreme Court and only the fourteenth woman on state courts of last resort in the United States.
Federal judicial service
Dimmick was nominated by President
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
on March 7, 1985, to a new seat on the
created by 98 Stat. 333. She was confirmed by the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
on April 3, 1985, and received her commission on April 4, 1985.
She was succeeded on the Washington Supreme Court by
Barbara Durham, who then became the second woman to serve on that court.
["4 new justices make history on high court", '']Spokane Chronicle
The ''Spokane Daily Chronicle'' is a daily digital newspaper in Spokane, Washington. It was founded as a weekly paper in 1881 and grew into an afternoon daily, competing with '' The Spokesman-Review'', which was formed from the merger of two c ...
'' (January 14, 1985), p. 3. Dimmick served as chief judge from 1994 to 1997, assuming
senior status on November 1, 1997.
See also
*
List of female state supreme court justices
Female state supreme court justices
First female justices
Below is a list of the names of the first woman to sit on the highest court of their respective states in the United States.
The first state with a female justice was Ohio; Florence ...
References
Sources
*
Senior Judge Carolyn Dimmick of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dimmick, Carolyn R.
1929 births
Living people
20th-century American women judges
21st-century American judges
21st-century American women judges
Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
Justices of the Washington Supreme Court
United States district court judges appointed by Ronald Reagan
University of Washington alumni
University of Washington School of Law alumni