Judges appointed by Jay Inslee

	Judicial selection in Washington
	Washington Supreme Court
Method:	Nonpartisan election
Term:	6 years
	Washington Court of Appeals
Method:	Nonpartisan election
Term:	6 years
	Washington Superior Court
Method:	Nonpartisan election
Term:	4 years
	Washington District Courts
Method:	Nonpartisan election
Term:	4 years

	Judicial Appointments
	Governor Jay Inslee
	Other Governors

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This page lists judges appointed by Jay Inslee (D) during his term as Governor of Washington. As of today, the total number of Inslee appointees was 122. For the full profile of Inslee, click here.

Ballotpedia provides comprehensive coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population. Some Washington judges are outside of that coverage scope. As a result, this page does not provide an exhaustive list of all judges appointed by Gov. Inslee.

Appointment process

If a midterm vacancy occurs on a Washington court, the governor appoints a replacement. That judge must then run in the next general election to finish the unexpired term.^[1]

Appointed judges

The tables below list the governor's appointees to the courts across the state.

State Courts

Supreme Court

Name	Court	Active
Mary Yu	Washington State Supreme Court Position 1	May 20, 2014 - Present
Raquel Montoya-Lewis	Washington State Supreme Court Position 3	January 6, 2020 - Present
G. Helen Whitener	Washington State Supreme Court Position 6	April 24, 2020 - Present

Court of Appeals

Name	Court	Active
Beth Andrus	Washington Court of Appeals Division I District 1	June 1, 2018 - March 15, 2023
David S. Mann	Washington Court of Appeals Division I District 1	August 16, 2016 - Present
Janet Chung	Washington Court of Appeals Division I District 1	April 25, 2022 - Present
Ian Birk	Washington Court of Appeals Division I District 1	May 9, 2022 - Present
J. Michael Diaz	Washington Court of Appeals Division I District 1	September 1, 2022 - Present
Michael Trickey	Washington Court of Appeals Division I District 1
John Chun	Washington Court of Appeals Division I District 1	September 1, 2018 - 2022
Bill Bowman	Washington Court of Appeals Division I District 1	January 24, 2020 - Present
Lori Smith	Washington Court of Appeals Division I District 1	August 1, 2018 - Present
Leonard Feldman	Washington Court of Appeals Division I District 1	March 15, 2023 - Present
Meng Li Che	Washington Court of Appeals Division II District 1	December 1, 2022 - Present
Linda C.J. Lee	Washington Court of Appeals Division II District 1	January 6, 2014 - Present
Bradley A. Maxa	Washington Court of Appeals Division II District 1	August 1, 2013 - Present
Lisa L. Sutton	Washington Court of Appeals Division II District 2	October 1, 2014 - September 30, 2021
Erik D. Price	Washington Court of Appeals Division II District 2	2021 - Present
Bernard Veljacic	Washington Court of Appeals Division II District 3	January 1, 2021 - Present
Rich Melnick	Washington Court of Appeals Division II District 3	March 10, 2014 - January 1, 2021
Anne Cruser	Washington Court of Appeals Division II District 3	March 8, 2019 - Present
John Cooney	Washington Court of Appeals Division III District 1	August 1, 2023 - Present
George Fearing	Washington Court of Appeals Division III District 2	June 24, 2013 - Present
Robert Lawrence-Berrey	Washington Court of Appeals Division III District 3	March 1, 2014 - Present
Rebecca Pennell	Washington Court of Appeals Division III District 3	January 19, 2016 - December 9, 2024
Megan Murphy	Washington Court of Appeals Division III District 3	January 13, 2025 - Present

Local Courts

Name	Court	Active
K. Peter Palubicki	Adams County Superior Court Position 1	January 1, 2024 - Present
Scott Gallina	Asotin, Columbia, and Garfield Counties Superior Court Position 1
Alex Ekstrom	Benton and Franklin Counties Superior Court Position 3	2014 - 2022
Norma Rodriguez	Benton and Franklin Counties Superior Court Position 4	April 1, 2022 - Present
Sam Swanberg	Benton and Franklin Counties Superior Court Position 5
Jacqueline Stam	Benton and Franklin Counties Superior Court Position 6	August 1, 2021 - Present
Jackie Shea Brown	Benton and Franklin Counties Superior Court Position 7
Robert Jourdan	Chelan County Superior Court	July 1, 2021 - Present
Kristin Ferrera	Chelan County Superior Court	January 5, 2018 - Present
Christopher Melly	Clallam County Superior Court	January 2, 2014 - December 31, 2018
John Fairgrieve	Clark County Superior Court
Derek J. Vanderwood	Clark County Superior Court
Bernard Veljacic	Clark County Superior Court
Suzan L. Clark	Clark County Superior Court
Camara Banfield	Clark County Superior Court	February 5, 2021 - Present
Anne Cruser	Cowlitz County Superior Court	2017 - 2019
Anna Gigliotti	Grant County Superior Court	October 29, 2021 - Present
Tyson R. Hill	Grant County Superior Court	April 26, 2021 - Present
David G. Estudillo	Grant County Superior Court	2015 - October 7, 2021
Ray Kahler	Grays Harbor County Superior Court
Vini E. Samuel	Grays Harbor County Superior Court	October 13, 2023 - Present
Stephen E. Brown	Grays Harbor County Superior Court
David Whedbee	King County Superior Court Department 1	September 16, 2019 - Present
Jaime Hawk	King County Superior Court Department 10	2022 - Present
E. Rania Rampersad	King County Superior Court Department 11	August 14, 2023 - Present
Haydee Vargas	King County Superior Court Department 12	2022 - Present
Sam Chung	King County Superior Court Department 15
Averil Rothrock	King County Superior Court Department 16
John Chun	King County Superior Court Department 16	2014 - 2018
Josephine Wiggs-Martin	King County Superior Court Department 17
Jason Poydras	King County Superior Court Department 18	2021 - Present
Nelson Lee	King County Superior Court Department 19	2020 - Present
Kristin Ballinger	King County Superior Court Department 2	2022 - Present
David A. Steiner	King County Superior Court Department 2
Susan Amini	King County Superior Court Department 20
Veronica Galván	King County Superior Court Department 21
Tanya Thorp	King County Superior Court Department 27
Johanna Bender	King County Superior Court Department 28
Matthew Segal	King County Superior Court Department 3	2021 - 2024
Coreen Wilson	King County Superior Court Department 30	2022 - Present
Marshall Ferguson	King County Superior Court Department 31	2018 - Present
Mark Larranaga	King County Superior Court Department 33	May 15, 2023 - Present
Angela J. Kaake	King County Superior Court Department 34	February 9, 2024 - Present
Chad Allred	King County Superior Court Department 34
Wyman Yip	King County Superior Court Department 35	2022 - Present
Mafé Rajul	King County Superior Court Department 35	2018 - October 14, 2022
Annette Messitt	King County Superior Court Department 36
Michael Ryan	King County Superior Court Department 37
Taki Flevaris	King County Superior Court Department 38	2022 - Present
Julia Garratt	King County Superior Court Department 39
Joe Campagna	King County Superior Court Department 39	2022 - Present
Nicholas Straley	King County Superior Court Department 4	February 6, 2024 - Present
Paul Crisalli	King County Superior Court Department 41
Jason Holloway	King County Superior Court Department 44	March 21, 2022 - Present
William L. Dixon V	King County Superior Court Department 46	July 2, 2023 - Present
Roger Rogoff	King County Superior Court Department 47
Andrea Robertson	King County Superior Court Department 47	December 31, 2020 - Present
Brian McDonald	King County Superior Court Department 48	2019 - Present
Aimee Sutton	King County Superior Court Department 49
Maureen McKee	King County Superior Court Department 5
Ketu Shah	King County Superior Court Department 50
Cindi Port	King County Superior Court Department 51	April 30, 2020 - Present
Jennifer Petersen	King County Superior Court Department 52	February 10, 2025 - Present
Adrienne McCoy	King County Superior Court Department 54	November 8, 2021 - Present
Susan Llorens	King County Superior Court Department 55	January 24, 2025 - Present
Todd Tinker	King County Superior Court Department 56	February 18, 2025 - Present
Melinda Young	King County Superior Court Department 6
Janet Helson	King County Superior Court Department 7
Matt Lapin	King County Superior Court Department 8	May 4, 2022 - Present
John Ruhl	King County Superior Court Department 8
Jeffrey Bassett	Kitsap County Superior Court
William Houser	Kitsap County Superior Court
Melissa Hemstreet	Kitsap County Superior Court
Phil Sorensen	Pierce County Superior Court
André Peñalver	Pierce County Superior Court	April 16, 2021 - Present
Gretchen Leanderson	Pierce County Superior Court
G. Helen Whitener	Pierce County Superior Court
Michael Schwartz	Pierce County Superior Court
Katie Loring	San Juan County Superior Court Position 1
Laura Riquelme	Skagit County Superior Court
Edirin Okoloko	Snohomish County Superior Court Position 4	March 1, 2020 - Present
Michelle Szambelan	Spokane County Superior Court	March 1, 2018 - Present
Dean Chuang	Spokane County Superior Court	January 8, 2024 - Present
Rachelle Anderson	Spokane County Superior Court	2019 - Present
Jeremy Schmidt	Spokane County Superior Court	2023 - Present
Charnelle Bjelkengren	Spokane County Superior Court	2019 - Present
Raymond F. Clary	Spokane County Superior Court
Julie McKay	Spokane County Superior Court
Tony Hazel	Spokane County Superior Court
Mary Sue Wilson	Thurston County Superior Court
Indu Thomas	Thurston County Superior Court	November 1, 2021 - Present
Allyson Zipp	Thurston County Superior Court
Raquel Montoya-Lewis	Whatcom County Superior Court
David Freeman	Whatcom County Superior Court	February 13, 2020 - Present
Kevin Naught	Whitman County Superior Court Washington Position 1
Gayle Harthcock	Yakima County Superior Court

Judicial selection process

See also: Judicial selection in Washington

Judicial selection refers to the process used to select judges for courts. At the state level, methods of judicial selection vary substantially in the United States, and in some cases between different court types within a state. There are six primary types of judicial selection: partisan and nonpartisan elections, the Michigan method, assisted appointment, gubernatorial appointment, and legislative elections. To read more about how these selection methods are used across the country, click here.

This article covers how state court judges are selected in Washington, including:

Washington Supreme Court,
Washington Court of Appeals,
Washington Superior Court, and
Limited jurisdiction courts

As of April 2025, judges for all courts in the state were selected through nonpartisan elections.^[2] Under the Washington Constitution, judges' terms begin on the second Monday in January following their election.^[3]

Click here to notify us of changes to judicial selection methods in this state.

Appellate state court selection in the United States, by general selection method^[4]

State courts and their selection methods across the U.S., including the District of Columbia^[4]
Method	Supreme Court (of 53)^[5]	Courts of Appeal (of 46)	Trial Courts (of 147)
Partisan elections (PE)	8	6	39
Nonpartisan elections (NPE)	13	16	34
Legislative elections (LE)	2	2	5
Gubernatorial appointment of judges (GA)	5	3	6
Assisted appointment (AA)	22	18	46
Combination or other	3^[6]	1^[7]	17^[8]

State profile

Demographic data for Washington
	Washington	U.S.
Total population:	7,160,290	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	66,456	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	77.8%	73.6%
Black/African American:	3.6%	12.6%
Asian:	7.7%	5.1%
Native American:	1.3%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0.6%	0.2%
Two or more:	5.2%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	12%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	90.4%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	32.9%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$61,062	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	14.4%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Washington. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Washington

Washington voted for the Democratic candidate in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, five are located in Washington, accounting for 2.43 percent of the total pivot counties.^[9]

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Washington had four Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 2.21 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.

More Washington coverage on Ballotpedia

External links

Office of the Governor

Footnotes

↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Washington," archived October 3, 2014
↑ National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Washington," accessed April 16, 2025
↑ Washington State Legislature, "Washington State Constitution," accessed April 16, 2025 (Scroll to Article IV, Section 3)
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection," archived February 2, 2015
↑ Both Oklahoma and Texas have two state supreme courts: one for civil matters and one for criminal matters.
↑ Michigan and Ohio use nonpartisan general elections with candidates selected through partisan primaries or conventions. In the District of Columbia, judges are selected in the same manner as federal judges.
↑ Judges of the North Dakota Court of Appeals are appointed on an as-needed basis by the supreme court justices.
↑ Most courts that use combination/alternative methods (for example, mayoral appointment) are local level courts. These courts are often governed by selection guidelines that are unique to their specific region.
↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.

Washington courts

Federal courts:

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Washington, Western District of Washington • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Washington, Western District of Washington

State courts:

Washington Supreme Court • Washington Court of Appeals • Washington Superior Court • Washington District Courts • Washington Municipal Courts

State resources:

Courts in Washington • Washington judicial elections • Judicial selection in Washington

[1] American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Washington," archived October 3, 2014

[select-2] National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Washington," accessed April 16, 2025

[WAconst-3] Washington State Legislature, "Washington State Constitution," accessed April 16, 2025 (Scroll to Article IV, Section 3)

[define-4] 4.0 ^4.1 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection," archived February 2, 2015

[5] Both Oklahoma and Texas have two state supreme courts: one for civil matters and one for criminal matters.

[6] Michigan and Ohio use nonpartisan general elections with candidates selected through partisan primaries or conventions. In the District of Columbia, judges are selected in the same manner as federal judges.

[7] Judges of the North Dakota Court of Appeals are appointed on an as-needed basis by the supreme court justices.

[8] Most courts that use combination/alternative methods (for example, mayoral appointment) are local level courts. These courts are often governed by selection guidelines that are unique to their specific region.

[9] The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.

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Judges appointed by Jay Inslee

Appointment process

Appointed judges

State Courts

Supreme Court

Court of Appeals

Local Courts

Judicial selection process

Contents

State profile

Presidential voting pattern

Pivot Counties (2016)

Pivot Counties (2020)

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Footnotes

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