U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Betty Binns Fletcher, a longtime, liberal member of the 9th U.S. Circuit and considered a trailblazer for women in law, died Monday night with family by her bedside in Seattle. She was 89.
The cause of death was not immediately released.
Fletcher, a Tacoma native, was appointed to the San Francisco-based appellate court in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter. She served as an active judge until 1998, when she agreed to take senior status to resolve a conflict in the Senate over the appointment of her son, Judge William Fletcher, to the court.
Over the course of her 33 years on the bench, Fletcher authored important opinions in many areas of the law, notably Native American tribal law, free speech, employment discrimination, environmental protection and water rights.One of her decision was Natural Resources Defense Council v. Winter: affirming a preliminary injunction against the Navy's use of sonar exercises that were likely to result in injuries to marine mammals.
Fletcher began law school at Stanford University in 1943, before many women were entering the field, took time off to raise a family and received her law degree from the University of Washington in 1956, finishing first in her class.
Although most Seattle law firms did not employ women lawyers at the time, Fletcher was hired in 1956 by the law firm of Preston, Thorgrimson & Horowitz. She worked there for 23 years, becoming the first woman partner at a major Pacific Northwest law firm, which later became Preston, Thorgrimson, Ellis, Holman & Fletcher.
She was the first woman elected president of the Seattle-King County BarAssociation and the first woman governor of the Washington State Bar Association. She also served as co-chair of the committee that passed the Equal Rights Amendment to the state constitution, and helped secure the state Legislature's passage of the federal Equal Rights Amendment.
“Judge Fletcher was a remarkable woman, diminutive in size but with an indomitable spirit and a seemingly endless supply of energy,” said 9th Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski. “She was one of the hardest working judges on the court, active or senior, and was hearing cases right up until being hospitalized last week. Her contributions to the law and to the court have been manyand she will be greatly missed.”
In addition to her son, Judge William Fletcher, survivors include two daughters, Professor Susan French of Los Angeles and Kathy Fletcher of Seattle; another son, Dr. Paul Fletcher, also of Seattle; eight grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
A memorial will be held Nov. 10 at noon in Benaroya Hall in Seattle.
