Charles W. Johnson

Charles W. Johnson (born 1951) is Associate Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of Washington, United States. He was born in Tacoma, Washington, and resides in Gig Harbor, Washington.

Tenure on the court

Justice Johnson has served on the Washington Supreme Court longer than any other current Justice. He was first elected to the Washington Supreme Court in 1990, gaining re-election in 1996, 2002, and 2008. He was re-elected again in 2014 and his currently serving his fifth term, which will run until 2021.

In October 2018, Johnson wrote a concurrence when the majority abolished the state's death penalty because they found its racist imposition violated the Constitution of Washington.

Education

Justice Johnson graduated from the University of Puget Sound School of Law (now Seattle University School of Law) in 1976, and was the first graduate of that institution to be elected to the Washington Supreme Court. He took his undergraduate degree from the University of Washington in 1974. He is a graduate of Curtis High School in University Place, Washington.