Progressives are warning that the governor’s appointment of the Nassau County district attorney would intensify the court’s pro-prosecution bent.
The race for chief justice, between a former public defender and a former prosecutor, will shape the court’s willingness to advance racial justice.
The state has not had a justice with experience as a public defender since the mid-1980s.
What newly-appointed G. Helen Whitener does next will shape whether Washington State moves in a more progressive direction.
But one candidate wants voters to forget the beliefs and career record driving his jurisprudence, with criminal justice at issue.
In several states, supreme courts issued direct orders to reduce arrests and release people over the past week.