Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

G. Helen Whitener

A candidate for Washington Supreme Court, Position 6, State of Washington in the 2020 Washington General Election, Nov. 3

Party: No party

Age: 59

City: University Place, Washington

Occupation: Incumbent Supreme Court justice

Education: Earned bachelor's degree in business administration and international marketing from Baruch College in New York in 1988. Earned law degree from Seattle University School of Law in 1998. 

Work experience: Appointed to Washington State Supreme Court by Gov. Jay Inslee in April 2020. Previously served as Superior Court Judge in Pierce County, and as judge for the Washington State Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals from 2013-2015. Practiced law as a deputy prosecutor and defense attorney from 1999-2015. 

Political experience: Elected to Pierce County Superior Court in 2015. Co-chair of the Washington State Minority & Justice Commission. 

Family: Married to Lynn Rainey. 

Contact information

Race Results

Candidate Votes Pct
G. Helen Whitener (N) 2,263,513 66.50%
Richard Serns (N) 1,140,338 33.50%

Details & headlines

Related Coverage

State Supreme Court refuses to order release of prisoners to ease crowding during epidemic

Washington Supreme Court wrestles with question of whether crowded prisons are unconstitutional during the COVID-19 epidemic

Pierce County judge named to Washington Supreme Court

Pierce County Superior Court Judge G. Helen Whitener was appointed Monday by Gov. Jay Inslee to the Washington Supreme Court.

Washington will release hundreds of prisoners to protect them from virus

Washington plans to release as many as 950 nonviolent inmates early to protect them from COVID-19 exposure.

State Supreme Court: Inslee, Washington must protect inmates from virus

The Washington Supreme Court has told Gov. Jay Inslee to protect the health of inmates in the state during the coronavirus outbreak.

100 years ago in Spokane: Montana attorney seeks Supreme Court help in case targeting Wobblies

A court injunction had made it a crime to belong to the Wobblies, or even wear the group’s buttons or insignia. The state Supreme Court was asked to rule on a case involving two men who were serving 90-day sentences in the Spokane County Jail for violating the injunction, i.e., being members of the Industrial Workers of the World, aka Wobblies.

Washington Supreme Court justices tour domestic violence services in Spokane

The justices lauded the Family Justice Center, which combines investigators, prosecutors and victim advocates under one roof to assist the large number of Spokane County residents experiencing some type of domestic violence issue.

Washington Supreme Court allows caps on direct but not indirect greenhouse gas emissions

A state agency didn’t have the legal authority to order Washington utilities and oil refineries to come up with ways to reduce the pollution their products eventually emit when used by other people.

Washington’s highest court gets chief justice from Spokane, first Native American member

With ceremonial drumming and singing and a bit of poetry, the Washington Supreme Court swore in a “daughter of Spokane” as its new chief justice and its first Native American justice in history.

Spin Control: Some mentions – honorable and dishonorable – for 2019

Before 2019 goes away, Spin Control marks its highlights and low lifes.

Washington Supreme Court ends legal turf battle in Stevens County

In a unanimous opinion issued last week, the high court’s nine justices sided with Stevens County Superior Court judges who sought to preside over preliminary hearings in cases that were originally filed in District Court. Such hearings often determine whether a defendant will be let out of jail while awaiting trial.