Charles Kenneth Wiggins (September 7, 1947 – May 27, 2025) was an American judge who was member 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. ...

. He was elected to the court in 2010, defeating incumbent Richard B. Sanders.

Biography

Early life and education

Wiggins was born on September 7, 1947. He grew up the son of a career warrant officer and was a Boy Scout

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of Scouting America. Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Scout rank has been earned by over ...

. Wiggins attended

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (AROTC) is the United States Army component of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. It is the largest Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program which is a group of college and university-based officer tr ...

scholarship, graduating magna cum laude and

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

. He then served in the United States Army Military Intelligence Corps for four years, rising to the rank of Captain and earning his

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

in night school. He attended

Duke Law School The Duke University School of Law is the law school of Duke University, a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. One of Duke's 10 schools and colleges, the School of Law is a constituent academic unit that began in 1868 as the ...

with help from the

G.I. Bill The G.I. Bill, formally the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I. (military), G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in ...

and was admitted to the bar in 1976.

Career

In private practice, Wiggins was a name partner with the firm of ''Edwards, Sieh, Wiggins & Hathaway'', and later where he focused primarily on in appeals, both civil and criminal, in the State Supreme Court, the State Court of Appeals, the

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts for the following federal judicial districts: * Distric ...

, and once as co-counsel in the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

, but also tried cases throughout

Washington state Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

. Later he established the firm of ''Wiggins & Masters PLLC'' on Bainbridge Island handling exclusively appellate cases. He served as a judge on Division Two of the Washington Court of Appeals,. He also served as a pro-tempore superior court judge in a number of cases in

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

and Jefferson Counties and as a pro-tempore district court judge in Kitsap County. Wiggins served on the Washington State Bar Rules Committee, the Disciplinary Board, task forces drafting and revising the rules that govern many aspects of law. He served as president-elect, president, and past president of the Washington Chapter of the

American Judicature Society The American Judicature Society (AJS) is an independent, non-partisan membership organization working nationally to protect the integrity of the American justice system. AJS's membership — including judges, lawyers, and members of the public — ...

, working to help educate the public about judicial elections and to improve judicial elections generally. He worked with a coalition of lawyers, bar associations and government groups to establish the nonpartisan award-winning websit
Voting For Judges
In October 2018, Wiggins joined the majority when the court abolished the state's death penalty because they found its racist imposition violated the

Constitution of Washington The Constitution of the State of Washington is the document that describes the structure and function of the government of the U.S. State of Washington. The constitution was adopted as part of Washington Territory's path to statehood in 1889. An ...

. On January 16, 2020, Wiggins announced his retirement, effective at the end of March 2020.

Death

Wiggins died May 27, 2025, at the age of 77.

References

External links

Washington Courts - Justice Charles K. Wiggins
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiggins, Charles K. 1947 births 2025 deaths 21st-century American judges Duke University School of Law alumni People from Fort Bragg, North Carolina Princeton University alumni University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni Justices of the Washington Supreme Court