Charles K. Wiggins
Encyclopedia
Charles K. Wiggins is a member of the Washington Supreme Court
. He was elected to the court in 2010, defeating incumbent Richard B. Sanders
.
. He attended Princeton University
on ROTC scholarship, graduating magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. He then served in the Army Military Intelligence Corps for four years, rising to the rank of Captain and earning his MBA in night school. He attended Duke Law School with help from the G.I. Bill and was admitted to the Bar in 1976.
, and once as co-counsel in the United States Supreme Court, but also tried cases throughout Washington State. Later he established the firm of Wiggins & Masters PLLC on Bainbridge Island handling exclusively appellate cases. He served as a judge on Division Two of the Washington Court of Appeals,. He has also served as a pro tem superior court judge in a number of cases in King
and Jefferson Counties and as a pro tem district court judge in Kitsap County.
Wiggins served on the Washington State Bar Rules Committee, the Disciplinary Board, task forces drafting and revising the rules that govern many aspects of law. He served as president-elect, president, and past president of the Washington Chapter of the American Judicature Society
, working to help educate the public about judicial elections and to improve judicial elections generally. He worked with a coalition of lawyers, bar associations and government groups to establish the nonpartisan award-winning website http://votingforjudges.org.
Washington Supreme Court
The Washington Supreme Court is the highest court in the judiciary of the U.S. state of Washington. The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and eight Justices. of the Court are elected to six-year terms...
. He was elected to the court in 2010, defeating incumbent Richard B. Sanders
Richard B. Sanders
Richard B. Sanders is a former member of the Washington Supreme Court. He is a land use attorney and an advocate of property rights. He was elected in 1995 to a partial term to fill a vacancy on the court, defeating Rosselle Pekelis. He was re-elected to three full six-year terms in 1998 and 2004...
.
Early life and education
Wiggins grew up the son of a career warrant officer and was a Boy Scout Eagle ScoutEagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America)
Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America . A Scout who attains this rank is called an Eagle Scout or Eagle. Since its introduction in 1911, the Eagle Scout rank has been earned by more than 2 million young men...
. He attended Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
on ROTC scholarship, graduating magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. He then served in the Army Military Intelligence Corps for four years, rising to the rank of Captain and earning his MBA in night school. He attended Duke Law School with help from the G.I. Bill and was admitted to the Bar in 1976.
Career
In private practice, Wiggins was a name partner with the firm of Edwards, Sieh, Wiggins & Hathaway, and later where he focused primarily on in appeals, both civil and criminal, in the State Supreme Court, the State Court of Appeals, the Ninth Circuit Court of AppealsUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...
, and once as co-counsel in the United States Supreme Court, but also tried cases throughout Washington State. Later he established the firm of Wiggins & Masters PLLC on Bainbridge Island handling exclusively appellate cases. He served as a judge on Division Two of the Washington Court of Appeals,. He has also served as a pro tem superior court judge in a number of cases in King
King County, Washington
King County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population in the 2010 census was 1,931,249. King is the most populous county in Washington, and the 14th most populous in the United States....
and Jefferson Counties and as a pro tem district court judge in Kitsap County.
Wiggins served on the Washington State Bar Rules Committee, the Disciplinary Board, task forces drafting and revising the rules that govern many aspects of law. He served as president-elect, president, and past president of the Washington Chapter of the American Judicature Society
American Judicature Society
The American Judicature Society is an independent, nonpartisan, national organization of judges, lawyers, and interested members of the public whose mission is to improve the American justice system - to "secure and promote an independent and qualified judiciary and fair system of justice." ...
, working to help educate the public about judicial elections and to improve judicial elections generally. He worked with a coalition of lawyers, bar associations and government groups to establish the nonpartisan award-winning website http://votingforjudges.org.