Carl Maxey: A Fighting Life

17. Type-A Gandhi

Maxey’s temper, noting that he had recently called up KXLY-AM radio host Martha Lou Wheatley and told her that if she weren’t a woman, he would “come to your station and kick your ass.” Maxey responded that he was justified in being angry with her. He was infuriated that Wheatley had said something on the air that would affect the defendant ’s right to an untainted jury pool in a case he was working. “Everybody ’s got some kind of temper,” he said. Other detractors suggested he was not a serious “student of the law.” “If you conceive of a Supreme Court justice as one who is really a scholarly type,” said one anonymous attorney, “Carl doesn’t fit that mold.” Still others pointed to his inexperience as a judge—he had only served pro tem—even though the state bar association rated him “most qualified.” The Spokesman-Review’s editorial board, while calling Maxey’s career “distinguished,” did not exactly give him a ringing endorsement either. They warned against making a choice on the basis of “mere tokenism” and urged Governor Gardner to scrutinize Maxey’s qualifications “from every angle.” Then, of course, there was the charge that Maxey always played the race card. “The only thing that bothers me,” said one anonymous lawyer, “is that if anyone disagrees with Carl, he has that one escape hatch, that ‘You’re a racist.’” One critic who felt no need to remain anonymous was prosecutor Brockett. He told Crompton that Maxey was flat-out unqualified for the position for a litany of reasons. “I just don’t think he has the proper judgment to be a Supreme Court judge,” said Brockett. “It’s much too important a position. One of his major weaknesses is that he turns every issue into a racial issue, which I think is unfortunate. I think that’s a lack of judgment. I think Carl could be much more effective in destroying racial barriers by not doing that.” Brockett said that Maxey once resorted to calling one of his deputy prosecutors a racist. Maxey didn’t deny that, but said the guy deserved it. The prosecutor had suggested, during a trial about a killing at Chinese restaurant, that black people don’t eat Chinese food. As for calling the deputy prosecutor a racist, Maxey said he had been called worse even by judges. “Sometimes, courtrooms are not the most pleasant arenas,” Maxey said. “When I started practicing, I had judges refer to me as a nigger and it never “no goddamned award” 235 upset me to the point where I couldn’t discharge my duty. I think lawyers have to be forgiven for heat-of-the-moment comments.” Brockett also said that Maxey’s overall philosophy was simply out of step with the public on law-and-order issues. He said that Maxey would use “too much of a fine-tooth comb” in questioning police activities . Obviously, Brockett was speaking from long experience on this issue. “He [Brockett] doesn’t think defense attorneys have the same concern about law enforcement that he does,” said Maxey in rebuttal . “That’s an improper attitude. We have as high a regard for the judges—for the process—as [prosecutors] do.” When Governor Gardner finally made his selection on July 13, 1988, the appointment went to the only other black candidate on the sixperson short list: Charles Z. Smith, a University of Washington law professor emeritus in private practice in Seattle. Maxey was unfailingly gracious in his public comments. He said he was gratified that the state supreme court would finally have a black justice. For Maxey, it was “half a victory—but the most important half.” Yet those who knew him best said that he was disappointed not to be chosen. Lou Maxey said he saw it as evidence of a pattern in his life—no matter how much he achieved, he could never achieve ultimate acceptance. “A reasonable man could never argue against him in terms of qualifications ,” said Lou. “He had the judicial temperament, he really did. But Booth Gardner was scared to death of him. He, literally, truly was. That’s pretty much an ongoing theme in Carl’s life. He used to tell me, ‘There’s nothing more dangerous than a jealous white man.’ And it’s true. They are everywhere and they are deadly. His life was fraught with those kinds of obstacles that should never be put in front of anybody...