Robert F. Utter


Robert French Utter was an American jurist.

Early life

Utter was born in Seattle, Washington, on June 19, 1930, to Besse and John Utter. He attended West Seattle High School, where he first participated in the YMCA's Youth Legislature program. Utter then went to Linfield College, before transferring to the University of Washington, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1951. He then his law degree from University of Washington School of Law in 1954.

Career

Utter served as a law clerk for Supreme Court Judge Matthew Hill after graduating from law school. He then served as the King County, Washington Juvenile Court commissioner from 1959 to 1964, before being elected as a King County Superior Court judge in 1964. In 1968, he was then appointed to the Washington Court of Appeals by Governor Dan Evans.
In 1971, Evans appointed Utter to the Washington Supreme Court, where he served for 23 years. Utter served as Chief Justice of the Washington Supreme Court from 1979 to 1981. On March 30, 1995, Utter resigned from the Court to protest the death penalty in the State of Washington.
In his resignation letter to Governor Mike Lowry, Utter wrote "I have reached the point where I can no longer participate in a legal system that intentionally takes human life" and that "We are absolutely unable to make rational distinctions on who should live and who should die."
Lowry appointed Rosselle Pekelis to fill Utter's seat.

Later life

Utter wrote law reviews and magazine articles and a book about the Washington State Constitution. After resigning, he worked on a justice project in Rwanda dealing with how courts tried to approach justice in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide.
In 2009, Utter wrote an op-ed in the Seattle Times reaffirming his opposition to the death penalty, writing that "etaining the death penalty fails to serve either justice, public safety or the public purse."

Death and legacy

In 1997, the YMCA Youth and Government program in Washington named its highest award after him. The "Robert F. Utter Award" is presented to individuals who "show consistent, outstanding and sustained contributions to the cause of civic leadership in Washington." Utter himself was the first recipient of the award.
Utter died at his home in Olympia, Washington on October 15, 2014.