Public gathers with Creighton family to honor Olympia’s court legacy
Dozens of people gathered on Monday at the Lee Creighton Justice Center to honor the building’s namesake and the legacy of the Olympia Municipal Court before the court merges with Thurston County District Court and the site transfers to the Squaxin Island Tribe.
The ceremony included remarks from current and former judges, and Creighton’s children Eli and Amy.
Pam Nogueira, the current Municipal Court Judge, said there were two big names that popped up when she took the bench: former Olympia judges Scott Ahlf and Lee Creighton. She knew of the former, but had to do some research on the latter.
Creighton was a city prosecutor and the city’s first elected judge, voted into office in 1997. Judges were previously appointed by the city manager and approved by the city council.
Creighton died of cancer in 2006. The Lee Creighton Justice Center was named in 2011 when the current Olympia City Hall building on Fourth Avenue was opened, and old City Hall on Plum Street was repurposed as a courthouse.
Nogueira said it’s an honor to be in the same position Creighton was, and he’s someone she aspires to be like.
Eli Creighton said he wasn’t expecting the court to put together such a large commemoration when he first reached out after hearing about the campus’ closure. He said he’s been reflecting on his dad’s legacy since the closure was announced.
Eli said it’s been almost 20 years since his father died, and though some may disagree with the city council’s decision to close the court, he sees a silver lining.
“It means that we collectively are all here together, and that’s awesome,” he said. “We are connected by the energies that are kind of exuded by this building, by the people who are standing here, by the memories that we collectively have, all of us sitting and standing here is truly a sublime moment in time, and I think it’s one where my dad’s past efforts, his vitality, his belief in this court, they coalesce into something that really transcends the pages of history.”
Eli is an attorney as well, and he was invited to participate as a pro tem judge in a number of cases Monday morning.
He said he was sworn into the state bar right in front of the justice center. He said it was an emotional moment for him because he and his sister ran around the complex when they were kids.
“I was lucky enough truly to sit behind this bench and view the court through my father’s eyes,” he said. “It was humbling, it was emotional and without hyperbole, it was the honor of my life.”
Eli shared some of his father’s background with the audience. He said he was born in 1958 in Pasadena, California. After moving around for some time, his family settled in Auburn. He graduated from the University of Washington’s School of Law and worked in private practice until becoming a prosecutor for the City of Olympia in 1989.
Creighton then ran for judge in 1997 against the city-appointed judge and was the city’s first elected judge starting in 1998. Eli said some people attribute his win to Creighton’s gregarious personality.
Eli said his dad ran again in 2001 for a second term and received 100% of the vote.
Creighton was diagnosed in 2003 with a brain tumor and initially only given six months to live, Eli said. Creighton stayed on the bench for some time, even after surgery.
“In a tough personal decision, he walked away from the bench while he still had the mental fortitude to do so, and though only given six months to live, he made it almost three years,” Eli said.
Creighton said he inherited his fascination with documentaries and books about Abraham Lincoln from his father. He also inherited his love of the law from him.
“He was dedicated to the practice of it,” he said. “He was dedicated to the betterment of it. He believed in the principles of it and what the law means to our community.”
He said his father made sure that not only every person was fully heard, but that the court reflected back the values of the people who elected him and have stood in front of him seeking personal justice.
“Olympia raised me and my sister. It embraced my dad in the role of Judge, a role I believe he was destined to play, and it acknowledged his greatest triumph with the honorific namesake of this building,” he said. “And while I’m deeply saddened on both a personal and professional level that the court is shuttering its doors, I am equally as grateful that I had this opportunity today to hear a few cases.”
Steve Hall, former Olympia city manager, knew Creighton when he was the new prosecutor in town. He said they grew up both personally and professionally in the complex now named after Creighton.
He said people only meet a few extraordinary people in their lives, and Creighton was one of those.
Hall said other folks in the complex had to put up with their terrible sense of humor and jokes. He said Creighton often would imitate Elmer Fudd and other characters when he first became a judge.
“Lee was the first one who ever said to me, ‘Everybody who comes into our criminal justice system in Olympia, they come out back into our community. And so it’s gotta be more than people. It has to be about helping those people create a better life, because they’re going to be part of our community again,’” Hall said.
Hall said he’s sad the building is going away, but the court itself and the systems created through it will continue to run.
“So there’s an extraordinary Lee Creighton, who was funny and mischievous and great to be around, and he truly loved his family,” he said. “And then there was the person who really saw a vision for our community that will last well beyond this building. I was Lee’s best friend, and I really miss him, but he left such a legacy.”
This story was originally published September 23, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
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