Robert F. Utter

Robert French Utter (June 19, 1930October 15, 2014) was an American attorney and jurist from Washington. He served as a King County Superior Court judge from 1964 until his appointment to the Washington Court of Appeals in 1968. In 1971 he was appointed to the Washington Supreme Court, where he served for 23 years, including two years as the chief justice. Utter is known for his opposition to the death penalty. He dissented in two dozen cases on capital punishment while on the court and resigned in 1995 in protest of it. After resigning from the court, Utter taught the first state constitutional law course in Washington State at the University of Puget Sound School of Law and traveled around the world to help developing nations create independent judiciaries. He died in 2014. Early life and education Utter was born in Seattle, Washington, on June 19, 1930, to Besse and John Utter. His mother died when Utter was six. He attended West Seattle High School, where he participated in the YMCA's Youth Legislature program. Utter attended Linfield College before transferring to the University of Washington. He majored in political science and English literature, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1951. He then earned his law degree from University of Washington School of Law in 1954. In 1958, Utter founded the Seattle chapter of Big Brothers, the first chapter in the state. Career Utter served as a law clerk for Supreme Court Judge Matthew Hill after graduating from law school. He then served as the King County, Washington Juvenile Court commissioner from 1959 to 1964 before being elected as a King County Superior Court judge in 1964. In 1968, he was then appointed to the Washington Court of Appeals by Governor Dan Evans. In 1971, following the resignation of Morell Edward Sharp, Evans appointed Utter to the Washington Supreme Court; he was sworn in on December 20, 1971, at the age of 41. Utter served for 23 years on the Washington Supreme Court, as chief justice from 1979 to 1981. Utter was 48 years old when he assumed the role of Chief Justice, making him at the time the youngest Chief Justice in the history of Washington State. That year, he was criticized by members of the Washington State Prosecuting Attorneys' Association as being overly "soft on crime". The prosecutors felt that Utter was too quick to throw court cases out on technicalities, letting "criminals go free". In 1978, Utter dissented from the majority opinion in State v.