Governor Gregoire Pays Tribute to Judge Jack E. Tanner

For Immediate Release: January 11, 2006

OLYMPIA�Governor Chris Gregoire today mourned the passing of legendary federal district Judge Jack E. Tanner, a Tacoma native and civil rights pioneer.

Judge Tanner, who took senior status in 1991, died last night in his native city. He was 86.

�For my generation, Jack Tanner�s brave decision on Comparable Worth was a landmark,� Gregoire said, referring to Tanner�s ruling striking down unequal pay for women by the state of Washington. Gregoire was the plaintiff�s attorney in the 1983 case, and she subsequently argued the decision before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

�He was the consummate public servant who lived his beliefs,� said Gov. Gregoire.

Tanner, a graduate of Stadium High School in Tacoma and the University of Washington Law School, served as an officer in the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and was of several national civil rights leaders invited to meet with President Kennedy in 1963. In the 1960s, he served as an attorney for various activists and tribal leaders in the struggle for Indian fishing rights.

After twenty years as a practicing attorney, Tanner was appointed to the federal bench by President Jimmy Carter in 1978. Funeral services are pending.

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