Debra L. Stephens

Chief Justice Debra L. Stephens announced two Supreme Court self-help guides explaining petitions for review and motions for discretionary review, describing them as a way to make appellate procedures more understandable and transparent for self-represented litigants and lawyers.

March 4, 2026Supports Civil Rights

Source: courts.wa.gov · researched July 13, 2026

Chief Justice Debra L. Stephens issued statewide guidance collecting legal resources on immigration enforcement in and around courthouses and directed courts to protect safe access to judicial proceedings without fear or intimidation.

February 3, 2025Supports Civil Rights

Source: courts.wa.gov · researched July 13, 2026

Justice Debra L. Stephens wrote separately in State v. Blake, agreeing that Shannon Blake's conviction should be vacated while arguing that Washington's possession statute should be read to require the State to prove intent rather than be invalidated in full.

February 25, 2021Supports Civil Rights

Source: courts.wa.gov · researched July 13, 2026

Chief Justice Debra L. Stephens provided review and leadership for statewide open-court guidelines that helped courts preserve public access to proceedings during pandemic-related operating limits.

July 27, 2020Supports Civil Rights

Source: courts.wa.gov · researched July 13, 2026

Chief Justice Debra L. Stephens joined every Washington Supreme Court justice in signing an open letter calling on judges and lawyers to recognize the justice system's role in racial inequity and work to eradicate racism.

June 4, 2020Supports Civil Rights

Source: courts.wa.gov · researched July 13, 2026

Chief Justice Debra L. Stephens signed a statewide emergency order for dependency and termination cases that preserved judges' authority to order individualized in-person parent-child visitation, with health precautions, when virtual foster-care visitation was inadequate.

April 3, 2020Supports Civil Rights

Source: courts.wa.gov · researched July 13, 2026

Wrote the Washington Supreme Court's majority opinion rejecting the inevitable discovery rule under the state constitution. The ruling means evidence from an unlawful home search must be thrown out (State v. Winterstein, 2009).

December 3, 2009Supports Civil Rights

Source: cases.justia.com · researched July 13, 2026

Judge Debra L. Stephens authored State v. Duckett, reversing a second-degree rape conviction because prospective jurors were questioned outside the courtroom without the public-trial analysis required by the Washington Constitution.

November 27, 2007Supports Civil Rights

Source: spokesman.com · researched July 13, 2026

Judge Debra L. Stephens authored Zink v. City of Mesa for the Washington Court of Appeals, holding that administrative inconvenience did not excuse strict compliance with the Public Disclosure Act and reversing a substantial-compliance ruling.

August 23, 2007Supports Civil Rights

Source: courts.wa.gov · researched July 13, 2026

Chief Justice Debra L. Stephens announced two Supreme Court self-help guides explaining petitions for review and motions for discretionary review, describing them as a way to make appellate procedures more understandable and transparent for self-represented litigants and lawyers.

March 4, 2026Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: courts.wa.gov · researched July 13, 2026

Chief Justice Debra L. Stephens issued statewide guidance collecting legal resources on immigration enforcement in and around courthouses and directed courts to protect safe access to judicial proceedings without fear or intimidation.

February 3, 2025Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: courts.wa.gov · researched July 13, 2026

A bar-licensure task force chartered by then-Chief Justice Debra L. Stephens in November 2020 led to the Washington Supreme Court's approval of alternative experiential pathways to lawyer licensure without requiring the traditional bar exam.

March 15, 2024Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: courts.wa.gov · researched July 13, 2026

The Washington State Association for Justice named Debra L. Stephens its Judge of the Year, crediting her leadership in rapidly moving courts to remote hearings during COVID-19 and in the Supreme Court's racial-justice letter.

June 3, 2022Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: courts.wa.gov · researched July 13, 2026

Justice Debra L. Stephens wrote separately in State v. Blake, agreeing that Shannon Blake's conviction should be vacated while arguing that Washington's possession statute should be read to require the State to prove intent rather than be invalidated in full.

February 25, 2021Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: courts.wa.gov · researched July 13, 2026

Chief Justice Debra L. Stephens provided review and leadership for statewide open-court guidelines that helped courts preserve public access to proceedings during pandemic-related operating limits.

July 27, 2020Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: courts.wa.gov · researched July 13, 2026

Chief Justice Debra L. Stephens signed a statewide emergency order for dependency and termination cases that preserved judges' authority to order individualized in-person parent-child visitation, with health precautions, when virtual foster-care visitation was inadequate.

April 3, 2020Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: courts.wa.gov · researched July 13, 2026

Justice Debra L. Stephens authored the majority opinion in Camicia v. Howard S. Wright Construction Co., affirming that disputed facts over whether an I-90 trail served a recreational or transportation purpose prevented summary judgment under recreational-use immunity.

January 30, 2014Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: courts.wa.gov · researched July 13, 2026

Wrote the Washington Supreme Court's majority opinion rejecting the inevitable discovery rule under the state constitution. The ruling means evidence from an unlawful home search must be thrown out (State v. Winterstein, 2009).

December 3, 2009Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: cases.justia.com · researched July 13, 2026

Judge Debra L. Stephens authored State v. Duckett, reversing a second-degree rape conviction because prospective jurors were questioned outside the courtroom without the public-trial analysis required by the Washington Constitution.

November 27, 2007Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: spokesman.com · researched July 13, 2026

Judge Debra L. Stephens authored Zink v. City of Mesa for the Washington Court of Appeals, holding that administrative inconvenience did not excuse strict compliance with the Public Disclosure Act and reversing a substantial-compliance ruling.

August 23, 2007Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: courts.wa.gov · researched July 13, 2026

Debra L. Stephens served as co-counsel for the family of Delbert Hayward when an Idaho jury awarded $18 million in punitive damages after finding nursing-home abuse and improper medication contributed to his death.

May 17, 2006Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: spokesman.com · researched July 13, 2026

Debra L. Stephens argued Hayward v. Valley Vista Care Corporation before the Idaho Supreme Court. The court reversed dismissal of the estate's wrongful-death claim and remanded it for further proceedings.

September 28, 2001Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: caselaw.findlaw.com · researched July 13, 2026