Spokane native Colleen Melody will be the next person to serve on the Washington State Supreme Court.
Governor Bob Ferguson announced Melody’s appointment during a ceremony in the Supreme Court chambers in the Temple of Justice today. She will replace Justice Mary Yu, who is retiring at the end of this year.
Twelve years ago, then-Attorney General Ferguson hired Melody to create a civil rights division in his office.
“Our goal has been in every corner of the state to level the playing field, whether it be in employment or housing, in government services, in education and healthcare and so much more,” Melody said.
Ferguson praised Melody for her integrity, her intellect and dedication to justice and equality.
“She helped lead our state's successful challenge of President Trump's first travel ban in 2017,” Ferguson said. “As you might recall, Washington was the first state to challenge President Trump in court in 2017 and the first state to defeat him in court. And that was due in large part to Colleen and her leadership and the hard work of the Civil Rights Division.”
Ferguson says Melody also won a restraining order against the second Trump administration in a case involving the citizenship rights of people born in the U.S.
“I had the real joy of being with Colleen in the room with people impacted by those cases,” he said, choking up.
“I’m sorry I'm a little emotional, but these were emotional meetings where we are meeting with people truly who have been harmed by outrageous conduct,” he said. “And these are individuals who do not always have a strong voice in our judicial system, to put it mildly. And Colleen has always been there for them. Nobody who has worked with Colleen or faced her in court will be surprised by today's announcement.”
Why she wanted the job
Melody graduated from Ferris High School and the University of Washington for both her undergraduate and law studies. She also worked in the civil rights division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Melody said she loves her work and colleagues, but sought the Supreme Court appointment “because state courts are incredibly important and they have never been more important than they are right now,” she said.
“At a time when public polling tells us that the credibility of courts as institutions is declining and when the rule of law seems more fragile than it has to me at any point during my lifetime, it seemed important to me that people who are people of goodwill, who are willing to work hard and who have deep faith in the courts as cornerstones of democracy, that those people be willing to raise their hands and serve,” Melody said.
She vowed “to judge cases fairly, impartially, with compassion and to work with my judicial branch colleagues, court staff, the bar and communities across Washington State to continue to ensure that Washington's courts are independent, excellent and models of access.”
Melody will become the second Spokane native on the state Supreme Court, joining Chief Justice Debra Stephens. She will become Washington’s 100th Supreme Court justice.
