Burton '82 Appointed Deputy Commissioner

Walter Burton '82 was appointed Deputy Commissioner of the Washington State Supreme Court. The Commissioner's Office is the office of the court’s staff attorneys, who screen all of the cases submitted to the court for review and recommend which ones to take. Burton supervises the staff attorneys and edits their work. He also prepares issue summaries for the public and the bar on cases that have been accepted, and he helps prepare rulings on personal restraint petitions; the Washington equivalent of the habeas corpus petition. The commissioner is empowered to rule on many of the motions that come before the court, and Burton rules on motions when the commissioner is absent and in cases in which the commissioner recuses.

Burton is a long-time court employee, having started as a staff attorney in 1986 and eventually becoming lead staff attorney.

Washington Courts