Washington State Supreme Court Justices Issue Open Letter Addressing Racial Injustice
In a letter dated 4th June 2020, nine Supreme Court Justices addressed the very issue that has threatened to tear America apart – racial injustice. It was an open letter to the legal community urging lawyers to take steps to confront racial injustices in society and in the law. Over the years, several cases have come to light on the racial injustice suffered by the African American community and minority groups.
The death of George Floyd, African American who was arrested and pinned to the ground by a police officer who then had his knee placed on George’s neck to still him. George was arrested for allegedly spending a fake $20 dollar bill and this triggered a general outrage with the African American community and across social media. Although not the first arrest to be taped and shared across social media, the African American community reached a tipping point and began a nationwide protest which spread from Minneapolis to the other 50 states across America and other countries including England and France. The anger and outrage were also linked to racial injustice suffered by other African Americans at the hand of law enforcement and racist killings such as Breonna Taylor, Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, Tony Timpa and several others.
At the heart of racial injustice in America is the Law Enforcement and Judiciary who are ideally charged with the responsibility of interpreting and maintaining law and order. But however, have often times carried out their responsibilities with racist undertones. In the letter, signed by Chief Justice Debra Stephens and justices Susan Owens, Mary Yu, Charles Johnson, Steven González, Raquel Montoya-Lewis, Barbara Madsen, Sheryl Gordon McCloud, and G. Helen Whitener said that: –
“We continue to see racialized policing and the overrepresentation of black Americans in every stage of our criminal and juvenile justice systems. Our institutions remain affected by the vestiges of slavery: Jim Crow laws that were never dismantled and racist court decisions that were never disavowed.
The legal community needs to recognize its responsibility for ongoing injustice, and that it can take steps to address it, the court wrote. The letter landed in the wake of protests throughout the state and nation over the death of George Floyd, who lost his life May 25 in Minneapolis as a police officer knelt on his neck.
As judges, we must recognize the role we have played in devaluing black lives. This very court once held that a cemetery could lawfully deny grieving black parents the right to bury their infant.
The judges acknowledged their personal biases and further wrote, “we can administer justice and support court rules in a way that brings greater racial justice to our system as a whole.”
Read the original article here and download the letter below
