Legal/Judicial Experience

Supreme Court Justice. Colleen Melody works every day to uphold the rule of law, improve access to justice, and protect the rights of Washingtonians.

Other Professional Experience

Colleen was a career civil rights lawyer and public servant. She taught at the University of Washington and brought pro bono cases on behalf of immigrants and veterans. She worked at a pizza shop in high school and waited tables through college.

Education

UW for college and law school, both with high honors.

Community Service

Colleen worked to improve access to services in her rural community, including better resources for seniors, increased healthcare services, and more affordable childcare.

Statement

Colleen grew up in Spokane, the daughter of a teacher and a healthcare advocate. As a civil rights lawyer, she protected Washingtonians whose rights were violated by multinational corporations, special interests, and the federal government. Colleen returned millions in wages owed to workers and protected employees from pregnancy discrimination and sexual harassment. As the leader of the Attorney General’s Civil Rights Division, she beat the Trump Administration when it tried to impose its unconstitutional Muslim Ban and separate families at the border.

Now more than ever, state courts must safeguard our rights with independence and impartiality. Washington’s laws provide broad protections in privacy, the workplace, housing, healthcare, and education. State courts must be places where victims of crime and discrimination may seek justice with safety and dignity.

Colleen is a working mom who lives in rural Western Washington with her husband and two public-school daughters. She is endorsed by every sitting Supreme Court Justice; retired Justices Yu and Madsen; Governors Ferguson, Inslee, and Gregoire; Attorney General Brown; hundreds of judges and elected leaders statewide, and the Washington State Labor Council. 

Your rights matter. Justice Colleen Melody has worked her entire career to protect them.