Elected Member

The Hon. Barbara Madsen

Olympia, WA
Supreme Court of Washington
Education
University of Washington
Gonzaga University School of Law

Barbara Madsen is the Chief Justice of the Washington Supreme Court. Elected to the court in 1992, she was appointed Chief Justice in October 2012. As Chief, she is the court’s chief spokesperson, presides over Supreme Court hearings and conferences, and co-chairs the state’s Board for Judicial Administration.

Following law school, Chief Justice Madsen worked as a public defender. She later joined the Seattle City Attorney’s Office and was appointed as Special Prosecutor in 1984, during which time she also developed the child abuse component of the Family Violence Project. In 1988, she was appointed to the Seattle Municipal Court bench, where she held the position of presiding judge and increased diversity among the court employee population.

Chief Justice Madsen is a member of Washington Women Lawyers and the National Association of Women Judges.

EDUCATION: University of Washington, B.A.; Gonzaga University School of Law, J.D.