In his guest lecture, Washington State Court of Appeals Judge George Fearing will discuss the legal doctrine of the necessity defense in the context of civil disobedience. The sermon picks up where Reverend George Taylor’s sermon from last week ended. The Washington Supreme Court issued a precedent setting case, allowing Reverend Taylor to assert the necessity defense when prosecuted for trespass. In doing so, the Washington Supreme Court reversed a ruling by the Washington Court of Appeals that precluded the defense, a ruling in which Judge Fearing dissented. Judge Fearing will cover the underpinnings of the necessity defense, the availability of the defense for civil disobedience, the need to permit juries to resolve whether the defense prevails, and the history behind civil disobedience.​

George Fearing serves as a judge on the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division III, which hears appeals from Eastern Washington’s county courts. For thirty one years before becoming a judge, George was a civil litigator in the Tri- Cities. He has served as a trustee of the Interfaith Freedom of Conscience Organization, which advocates for separation of church of state. He authored the dissenting opinion in Rev. George Taylor’s climate necessity defense appeal, writing that the majority “endangered the survival of the necessity defense, diminished a patriotic tradition”, and rejected the “moral worth of civil disobedience.”