Richard P. Guy (born October 24, 1932) is an American attorney who was 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 1989 to 2001, serving as chief justice from 1998 to 2001.

Early life and education

Guy was born on October 24, 1932, in

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Coeur d'Alene ( ; ) is a city and the county seat of Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. It is the most populous city in North Idaho and the principal city of the Coeur d'Alene Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 54,628 at th ...

, to Richard H. and Charlotte M. Guy. He attended

Gonzaga University Gonzaga University (GU) ( ) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington, United States. It is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges ...

and graduated with a

B.A. 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 degree ...

degree. He then obtained a J.D. from

Gonzaga University School of Law The Gonzaga University School of Law (also known as Gonzaga Law or GU Law) is the professional school for the study of law at Gonzaga University. Established in 1912, the Jesuit-affiliated law school has been fully accredited by the American Ba ...

in 1959, while clerking for Spokane attorney and court commissioner, Kathleen Taft.

Legal and judicial career

In 1961, he accepted a position with the Spokane County Prosecutor's Office, where he was both a civil deputy and chief criminal deputy prosecuting attorney. In 1967, he worked with the U.S. Agency for International Development on projects in West Africa and

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

. During his career, he was also assistant attorney general for the state of Washington, and counsel to the speaker of the state

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

. In 1981, he entered private practice and was a principal at Winston & Cashatt in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

. He was a judge of the Spokane County Superior Court for four years: from 1977 to 1981, and again in 1985. In October 1989, Governor

Booth Gardner William Booth Gardner (August 21, 1936 – March 15, 2013) was an American politician who served as the 19th governor of Washington from 1985 to 1993. He also served as the ambassador of the GATT. A member of the Democratic Party, Gardner previ ...

appointed Guy as a justice of the Washington Supreme Court. In November 1990, Guy stood for election for the four years remaining on the term, defeating former Republican Governor

John Spellman John Dennis Spellman (December 29, 1926 – January 16, 2018) was an American politician who served as the first King County executive from 1969 to 1981 and the 18th governor of Washington from 1981 to 1985. Spellman was elected governor in ...

. In 1994, Guy successfully ran against

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 ...

public defender Kevin Patrick Dolan, and was elected to a six year term. In 2000, Guy chaired a study on the death penalty that documented its high costs. After leaving the bench in 2001, Guy worked as a mediator and arbitrator in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

and Seattle. Guy has also taught law in Italy.

Honors and awards

Guy is recipient of several honors, including: the Herbert Harley Award from 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 — ...

, and the Outstanding Judge Award (in 2000) from the

Washington State Bar Association The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) is the state bar association of the U.S. state of Washington. It operates under the delegated authority of the Washington Supreme Court to license the state's nearly 41,000 active and inactive lawyers a ...

. In addition, he was recognized as the Jurist of the Year by the American Board of Trial Advocates. He has been acclaimed by his ''alma mater'', Gonzaga Law School: in 1993, he received an Honorary Doctor of Laws; in 2001, he received the Distinguished Legal Service Award; and, in 2017, he was conferred the Gonzaga Law Medal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guy, Richard P. 1932 births Living people Gonzaga University alumni Gonzaga University School of Law alumni Lawyers from Spokane, Washington 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American judges Justices of the Washington Supreme Court Chief justices of the Washington Supreme Court