State Supreme Court Justice Richard Sanders will seek another term on the state’s top court.

Sanders, first elected in a special election in 1995, will be running for a fourth six-year term on the court. As of now he will have at least one opponent. That would be Charlie Wiggins, a lawyer specializing in appeals work who lives on Bainbridge Island.

Sanders said he will continue to make civil liberties the centerpiece of his campaign.

“I believe in protecting our individual rights as guaranteed in the state and federal constitutions,” said Sanders. “The Court should decide cases not to arrive at a predetermined outcome, but to uphold the principles we believe in. That’s what I’ve done for 15 years even when the result is controversial, but that’s the job description.”

Sanders, 64, is known for writing the most opinions – and the most dissenting opinions – on the bench and for a libertarian approach to many issues. He has written decisions supporting both gun rights as well as the right to use marijuana in private.

His decisions have helped him gain an eclectic mix of endorsers including former state GOP chairman Dale Foreman, former Seattle mayor and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wes Uhlman, prominent defense attorney Lenell Nussbaum and Seattle attorney and Black community leader Lem Howell.

Sanders also has been endorsed by former Supreme Court Justice Phil Talmadge and former Republican State Senator Stephen Johnson.

Wiggins, 62, lives on Bainbridge Island and said Sanders too often sides with criminal defendants, He also says Sanders has failed to uphold ethical standards citing a 2005 admonishment by the state Commission on Judicial Conduct for visiting detainees at a state sex-offender treatment center, including some patients who had cases pending before the court.

Wiggins has practiced law for 33 years and served briefly on the court of appeals in Tacoma to which he was appointed in 1995 but did not win a full term. He has been active with groups who raise concerns about how campaign money might improperly influence the judiciary.