Washington State Supreme Court justice vacancy (April 2026)
| Washington Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Madsen vacancy |
| Date: April 3, 2026 |
| Status: Retirement scheduled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: To be determined |
| Date: To be determined |
Washington State Supreme Court Justice Barbara Madsen is retiring on April 3, 2026.[1] Madsen's replacement will be Governor Ferguson's (D) second nominee to the nine-member supreme court.
In Washington, state supreme court justices are elected in nonpartisan elections. There are 13 states that use this selection method. To read more about the nonpartisan election of judges, click here.
In the event of a midterm vacancy, the governor appoints a replacement. The appointee serves until the next general election, at which point he or she may run to serve for the remainder of the predecessor's term.[2] If the resignation and subsequent appointment takes place after the filing period opens for that year's elections, the appointee must stand in the next year's election to remain on the bench.[3]
Ballotpedia has compiled the following resources on the process to fill the Washington State Supreme Court vacancy:
- An overview of the selection process.
- An overview of the court following the vacancy.
- An overview of the justice who left office.
- A list of other state supreme court appointments in 2026.
Appointee candidates and nominations
Ballotpedia will post information on candidates and prospective appointees as information becomes available. If you know of information that should be included here, please email us.
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in Washington
In Washington, state supreme court justices are elected in nonpartisan elections. There are 13 states that use this selection method. To read more about the nonpartisan election of judges, click here.
Makeup of the court
- See also: Washington State Supreme Court
Justices
Following Madsen's retirement, the Washington State Supreme Court included the following members:
| ■ Colleen Melody | Appointed by Gov. Bob Ferguson (D) in 2025 | |
| ■ Sal Mungia | Elected in 2024 | |
| ■ Raquel Montoya-Lewis | Appointed by Gov. Jay Inslee (D) in 2019 | |
| ■ Charles W. Johnson | Elected in 1990 | |
| ■ G. Helen Whitener | Appointed by Gov. Jay Inslee (D) in 2020 | |
| ■ Debra Stephens | Appointed by Gov. Christine Gregoire (D) in 2007 | |
| ■ Steven Gonzalez | Appointed by Gov. Christine Gregoire (D) in 2011 | |
| ■ Sheryl McCloud | Elected in 2012 |
About the court
Founded in 1889, the Washington Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort and has nine judgeships. The current chief judge of the court is Debra Stephens. In 2018, the court decided 1,269 cases.[4]
As of January 2026, four judges on the court were elected in nonpartisan elections and five were appointed by a Democratic governor.
The court is located in the Temple of Justice on the Capitol Campus in Olympia, Washington.[5]
About Justice Madsen
- See also: Barbara Madsen
Before serving on the supreme court, Madsen served on the Seattle Municipal Court. Before that, she was the special prosecutor at the Seattle City Attorney’s Office. Madsen began her career as a public defender, after receiving her J.D. from Gonzaga University School of Law in 1977. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Washington in 1974.[6]
Madsen was awarded the Judicial Award by the Equal Justice Coalition in 2004 and was named the Woman of the Year by the Seattle University School of Law in 2003.[7] She was appointed chair of the Washington State Gender and Justice Commission in 1998.[8]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2026
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2026
The following table lists vacancies on state supreme courts that opened in 2026. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2025.
| 2026 State Supreme Court Vacancies |
|---|
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Washington Courts, "Washington Supreme Court Veteran Justice, Barbara A. Madsen, Announces Retirement," February 02, 2026
- ↑ Washington State Legislature, "Washington State Constitution," accessed April 16, 2025 (Scroll to Article IV, Section 3)
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, Methods of Judicial Selection: Washington," accessed April 16, 2025
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedcases - ↑ Washington Courts, "Visit the Supreme Court," accessed August 18, 2021
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedBio - ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedbio - ↑ NAWJ, "Washington State Supreme Court Justice Barbara A. Madsen Named NAWJ Justice Joan Dempsey Klein Honoree of the Year," August 20, 2020
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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
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