InWashington, there are two federal district courts, a state supreme court, a state court of appeals, and trial courts. These courts serve different purposes, which are outlined in the sections below.

Click a link for information about that court type.

• Federal courts
• State supreme court
• State court of appeals
• Trial courts

The image below depicts the flow of cases through Washington's state court system. Cases typically originate in the trial courts and can be appealed to courts higher up in the system.

The structure of Washington's state court system.

Judicial selection process

See also:Judicial selection in Washington andWashington judicial elections

Selection of state court judges in Washington occurs throughnonpartisan elections. Judges wishing to serve multiple terms must run for re-election.^[1]

To read more about judicial elections in Washington,click here.

Federal courts

Thefederal district courts in Washington are the:

• Eastern District of Washington
• Western District of Washington

Appeals from this district goes to theU.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

Active judges

Eastern District

The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

• Democratic appointed: 4
• Republican appointed: 0

Western District

The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

• Democratic appointed: 7
• Republican appointed: 0

Judicial selection

Judges who sit on the federal district courts are nominated by thepresident of the United States and confirmed by theUnited States Senate. These judges serve life terms. To read more about the judges on these courts, clickhere.

Bankruptcy courts

There are twofederal bankruptcy courts in Washington. These courts have subject-matter jurisdiction over bankruptcy cases. The federal bankruptcy courts in Washington are:

• Eastern District of Washington Bankruptcy Court
• Western District of Washington Bankruptcy Court

State supreme court

See also:Washington Supreme Court

Founded in 1889, theWashington Supreme Court is the state'scourt of last resort and has nine judgeships. The current chief of the court isDebra Stephens. In 2018, the court decided 1,269 cases.^[2]

As of January 2025, four judges on the court were elected in nonpartisan elections and five were appointed by a Democratic governor.

The following judges sit on the court:

State court of appeals

See also:Washington Court of Appeals

TheWashington Court of Appeals is theintermediate appellate court for the state ofWashington. The court is a non-discretionary appellate court. This means that it must accept, review and issue a written decision for all appeals filed with it, unlike theWashington State Supreme Court, which can reject an appeal.

The following judges sit on the court:

Trial courts

Superior courts

See also:Washington Superior Courts

TheWashington Superior Courts are the32 courts covering the39 counties.

District courts

See also:Washington District Courts

TheDistrict Courts are trial courts inWashington that have limited jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases. This includes criminal misdemeanors, preliminary hearings for felony cases, infractions, and civil claims under $75,000.^[3]

Municipal courts

See also:Washington Municipal Courts

TheMunicipal Courts are courts in the state ofWashington that have jurisdiction over the violations of municipal and city ordinances.^[3]

In other states

See also

• Judicial selection in Washington
• Washington judicial elections

External links

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• Search Google News for this topic
• Washington Supreme Court

Footnotes

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