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Helen Whitener
Justice of the Washington Supreme Court
Incumbent
Assumed office April 24, 2020
Appointed by	Jay Inslee
Preceded by	Charles K. Wiggins
Personal details
Born	Grace Helen Whitener 1964 or 1965 (age 59–60) Trinidad and Tobago
Spouse	Lynn Rainey
Education	Baruch College (BBA) Seattle University (JD)

Grace Helen Whitener (born 1964 or 1965), known professionally as G. Helen Whitener, is a Trinidadian-American attorney serving as an associate justice of the Washington Supreme Court. Whitener was nominated by Governor Jay Inslee on April 13, 2020, to fill the seat of retiring justice Charles K. Wiggins.

Early life and education

Whitener was born and raised in Trinidad. She moved to the United States when she was 16 to receive medical care. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in international marketing and trade from Baruch College, followed by a Juris Doctor from the Seattle University School of Law.

Career

After graduating from law school, Whitener worked as a public defender, prosecutor, and private defense attorney.

She served as a judge on the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals for two years and then on the Pierce County Superior Court from 2015 to 2020, having been appointed by Governor Inslee and elected unopposed in 2015 and 2016.

On April 13, 2020, she was appointed to the Washington Supreme Court by Governor Jay Inslee. She successfully ran for election in 2020 for the remaining two years of Wiggins's term, winning 66% of the vote.

Personal life

She is the first African-American, LGBTQ judge in Washington and second African-American member of the Washington Supreme Court after Charles Z. Smith. She is disabled. Whitener is co-chair of the Washington State Minority and Justice Commission.

Whitner is married to Lynn Rainey, a fellow graduate of the Seattle University School of Law and an LGBTQ activist.

See also

• List of African-American jurists
• List of LGBT jurists in the United States
• List of LGBT state supreme court justices in the United States
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Washington

References

1. Hill, Kip (October 2, 2020). "Supreme Court Justice Helen Whitener defends seat against former school administrator Richard Serns | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
2. ^ "Judge G. Helen Whitener appointed to state Supreme Court". AP NEWS. April 13, 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
3. "You can go home again: Judge G. Helen Whitener speaks up for human rights in her birth country of Trinidad : Seattle University School of Law : Seattle Washington". law.seattleu.edu. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
4. Staff, Tacoma Weekly (October 26, 2017). "Judge Whitener named keynote speaker for 2018 Black Women Rise Conference". Tacoma Weekly. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
5. ^ "Pierce County Judge G. Helen Whitener named to Washington State Supreme Court". KING. April 13, 2020. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
6. "G. Helen Whitener". Ballotpedia. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
7. "Inslee appoints Judge G. Helen Whitener to the Washington State Supreme Court" (Press release). April 13, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
8. "Judge G. Helen Whitener appointed to the WA Supreme Court". MyNorthwest.com. April 13, 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
9. Washington Secretary of State. "November 3, 2020 General Election Results: Supreme Court - Justice Position #06". Retrieved May 31, 2021.
10. Stern, Mark Joseph (April 17, 2020). "Washington State Now Has the Most Diverse Supreme Court In History". Slate Magazine. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
11. "A New Supreme Court Justice Could Swing Criminal Justice Decisions in Washington". The Appeal Political Report. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
12. "Judge Helen Whitener '98 named Woman of the Year : Seattle University School of Law : Seattle Washington". law.seattleu.edu. Archived from the original on July 30, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2020.

External links

• Campaign biography

v t e Statewide elected officials and legislative leaders of Washington
U.S. senators	Patty Murray Maria Cantwell
State government	Jay Inslee, Governor Denny Heck, Lieutenant Governor Steve Hobbs, Secretary of State Bob Ferguson, Attorney General Mike Pellicciotti, Treasurer Pat McCarthy, Auditor Hilary Franz, Land Commissioner Mike Kreidler, Insurance Commissioner Chris Reykdal, Superintendent
Senate	Denny Heck, President Vacant, President pro tempore Andy Billig, Majority Leader John Braun, Minority Leader
House	Laurie Jinkins, Speaker Vacant, Speaker pro tempore Joe Fitzgibbon, Majority Leader Drew Stokesbary, Minority Leader
Supreme Court	Steven González, Chief Justice Charles Johnson, Associate Chief Justice Barbara Madsen Susan Owens Debra Stephens Sheryl McCloud Mary Yu Raquel Montoya-Lewis Helen Whitener

• 1960s births
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• 21st-century American judges
• 21st-century American women judges
• 21st-century African-American lawyers
• 21st-century African-American women
• 21st-century Trinidad and Tobago LGBTQ people
• 21st-century Trinidad and Tobago lawyers
• 21st-century Trinidad and Tobago women
• African-American judges
• African-American LGBTQ people
• American prosecutors
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• Baruch College alumni
• Justices of the Washington Supreme Court
• LGBTQ appointed officials in the United States
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