death_date birth_place party office termstart termend appointer birth_date spouse article_title name alma_mater
18 january 1997 lexington , kentucky american heritage party chief the king county superior court justice of the washington supreme court judge on january 14 , 1985 july 17 , 1988 general election 19 september 1919 ruth william c. goodloe
 william cassius goodloe , iii university of washington
william c. goodloe

william cassius goodloe iii -lrb- 1919 -- 1997 -rrb- was chief justice of the washington supreme court from 1985 to 1988 .
william goodloe was born in lexington , kentucky on september 19 , 1919 .
justice goodloe graduated from the university of washington law school in 1948 and was a trial lawyer for 24 years .
he served on the king county superior court for twelve years and served for three and a half years on the washington state supreme court from january 14 , 1985 to july 17 , 1988 after winning a contested election .
while on the supreme court , justice goodloe authored 56 majority opinions with 12 concurrences and 34 dissents .
he was an advocate of jury nullification and suggested that the following instruction be given by judges to all juries in criminal cases : '' `` you are instructed that this being a criminal case you are the exclusive judges of the evidence , the credibility of the witnesses and the weight to be given to their testimony , and you have a right also to determine the law in the case .
the court does not intend to express any opinion concerning the weight of the evidence , but it is the duty of the court to advise you as to the law , and it is your duty to consider the instructions of the court ; yet in your decision upon the merits of the case you have a right to determine for yourselves the law as well as the facts by which your verdict shall be governed . '' ''
he was a loving family man and raised a big family in the seattle area with his wife phyllis goodloe .
he loved to paint and memorize great quotes .
he was also a freemason and a member of the valley of seattle , ancient & accepted scottish rite and held the rank and title of 32 ° knight commander of the court of honour .
he spent a majority of his time after his retirement studying and giving speeches on the us constitution and the great americans of history .
goodloe died on may 8 , 1997 .
