EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been corrected. The justices’ visit will be on Wednesday. The original story erroneously said the visit would be on Tuesday.
PORT TOWNSEND — Two state Supreme Court justices — the chief justice and a former Clallam County District Court judge — will visit the North Olympic Peninsula next week.
Chief Justice Barbara Madsen and Justice Susan Owens are scheduled to present a replica of a U.S. flag designed by Thomas Jefferson to Jefferson County on Wednesday and will take the opportunity to interact with the public during their visit.
At 1:30 p.m. in the Superior Court chambers at the Jefferson County Courthouse, 1820 Jefferson St., the justices will present a flag on behalf of former Justice Tom Chambers, who retired from the bench in 2012.
At about 2:30 p.m., District Court Judge Jill Landes will host a conversation among Madsen, Owens and this year’s Port Townsend High School Mock Trial team, which will compete in district competition in February in the Washington State YMCA Mock Trial Program, aiming to go to state finals in the spring.
“I didn’t want them to drive all this way just for a 15-minute flag presentation,” said Superior Court Clerk Ruth Gordon.
“I wanted to give people an opportunity to meet these two leaders because most of us don’t have a clearly defined opportunity to meet their elected officials.”
Young people interested in pursuing a legal career are welcome to join in the discussion, which will take place in District Court chambers.
Students from Port Townsend, Chimacum and Quilcene will be invited to the event, which is also open to anyone who is considering a law career or who just wants to hear what the justices say, Gordon said.
“The kids will never have a better chance to ask these questions of the justices,” Gordon said.
“They can ask about what they will need to think about if they want to start a law career and what it was like for them starting out.”
The flag that will be presented is a replica of one that flew over the Battle of New Orleans in 1815.
It originally was presented to Chambers by the Washington State Association for Justice in appreciation of his 20 years of service on its board of directors and was displayed in his chambers at the Temple of Justice in Olympia for 12 years.
Chambers, who lives in Issaquah, is in ill health, according to his blog. He is not expected to attend the ceremony.
He is making the gift to Jefferson County because of its name — its connection with Thomas Jefferson — and “because he really likes this old courthouse,” Gordon said.
Since the flag is a replica, the date of its manufacture is unknown, but it is kept in a shadowbox for its protection, Gordon said.
Superior Court Judge Keith Harper has not yet determined its permanent location, Gordon said.
Madsen, who lives in Pierce County, was unanimously elected by her colleagues to serve a second term as chief justice in October 2012.
When first elected in 1992, she was the third woman to sit on the state Supreme Court. She has since been re-elected three times.
Since 1998, she has chaired the Washington State Gender and Justice Commission.
Gordon, the vice chairwoman of the Gender and Justice Commission, said Madsen does not fit the stereotype of a chief justice.
“If you were to get a chief justice from central casting, he would be tall and have silver hair along with a booming voice,” she said.
“These women are very accessible,” Gordon said. “They are interesting and very gracious.”
Owens, a former Clallam County District Court judge, was the seventh woman to sit on the state Supreme Court when she was first elected to it in 2000. She has since been re-elected twice.
She joined the court after serving 19 years in Forks as the District Court judge for Western Clallam County.
She also served as the Quileute tribe’s chief judge for five years and chief judge of the Lower Elwha S’Klallam tribe for more than six years.
At 11 a.m., prior to the ceremony, Owens will offer a continuing legal education session on ethics in the Board of County Commissioners’ chambers that is open to practicing attorneys
For more information, email Jefferson County Bar Association President Paul Richmond at justiceowenscle@gmail.com.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
