For 28 years, Betty Fletcher — this year’s recipient of the King County Bar Association’s William L. Dwyer Outstanding Jurist Award — has served with distinction as judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. (Although she took senior status in late 1998, Judge Fletcher continues to carry a full calendar load.) Judge Fletcher’s deep knowledge of the law, her keen intelligence and her lucid and graceful writing, have produced opinions that are certain to shape the law in significant and lasting ways.
The range of Judge Fletcher’s noteworthy opinions includes questions of securities law, liability of accounting firms for issuing false reports, legal ethics, right to counsel, the jurisdiction of tribal courts, civil rights, women’s rights, and cases interpreting the free speech and religion clauses of the First Amendment. A fervent believer in the Rule of Law, Judge Fletcher has dedicated her life to its advancement. As Judge Fletcher makes clear, the indispensable pillars of the law are an independent judiciary, the pursuit of equal justice for all, and the vigilant safeguarding of civil rights and individual liberty, more forcefully than ever at those times in our nation’s history when these values may be threatened.
Because Judge Fletcher and Judge Dwyer shared an unshakable commitment to the law as the pathway to justice and to the essential role of the courts in preserving freedom, it is particularly fitting that Judge Betty Fletcher be awarded the William L. Dwyer Outstanding Jurist Award.
Betty and Bill were longtime friends and professional colleagues, who also shared a love for the natural splendor of the Pacific Northwest. They teamed up as co-counsel on several cases. At Judge Fletcher’s swearing-in ceremony, Bill told a story that typifies Betty and illustrates Bill’s respect and affection for her. The trial team, including Bill and Betty, had been working well into the night on an important brief due the next day. Everyone working at Bill’s office was thoroughly exhausted when, as Bill described it, “At 2 a.m. Betty arrived with her just-completed section of the brief, ‘fresh as a daisy.’”
More than 30 years later, her energy and enthusiasm for life remain undiminished. (As I was writing this, I learned that Betty and her husband Bob had left at 4 a.m. that day for a romantic getaway in Venice, immediately following Betty’s return from a judicial conference in San Diego.)
Betty’s stature as a pioneer for women in the law is well known — first woman partner and name partner in her law firm, then known as Preston Thorgrimson; first woman president of the Seattle/King County Bar Association; and first woman governor of the Washington State Bar Association, to cite just a few examples. She has been an inspiration for many women lawyers and judges. As Judge Margaret McKeown notes:
"I was fortunate to meet Judge Fletcher, or “Betty” as I know her, when I first moved to Seattle. Although she was in a different firm, she became my mentor from afar. Now I am privileged to be her colleague on the Ninth Circuit. Judge Fletcher has been a prominent force on the court — she is known for her legal scholarship and she writes beautifully. Judge Fletcher has authored landmark cases ranging from copyright and environmental law to women’s rights, a reflection of her broad mastery of the law. She brings passion and a sense of justice to her role as a judge and never lets us forget that there are real people in every case."
We at the bar are fortunate to have among us many lawyers whose first professional experience was as Judge Fletcher’s law clerk. One of these, Floyd Short, describes the experience:
"The first thing that struck me was how hard she worked. It was well known in the federal courthouse that Fletcher clerks worked harder than any of the other clerks. What made it especially worthwhile for us is that she worked just as hard as we did.
Second, I remember how quickly she would get to the heart of the matter. Her clerks would spend days reading briefs, researching the law, and drafting memos for her to consider. When we met with the Judge before oral argument her questions invariably honed right in on the issues on which the decision would turn.
Third, Judge Fletcher had a trait not always found on the appellate bench — she cared about the parties and their right to have a careful and fair consideration of their case. While she also cared about the broader legal issues presented in a case, she always considered and respected the parties and the effect her decision would have on them."
Dedication to the law and caring about the people whom the law is intended to serve — that sums up Judge Betty Fletcher pretty darn well.
