Justice Barbara Madsen

Barbara A. Madsen is the third woman to be elected to a seat on the bench of the Washington State Supreme Court since the formation of the Court in 1889. Justice Madsen was first elected in 1992, re-elected in 1998, and re-elected for a third term on September 14, 2004.

A native of Renton, Justice Madsen received her undergraduate degree from the University of Washington in 1974 and earned her J.D. from Gonzaga University School of Law in 1977. While at Gonzaga, Justice Madsen volunteered many hours with Gonzaga’s University Legal Assistance Clinic and with Spokane Legal Services. Currently, Justice Madsen sits on the Board of Advisors for Gonzaga University School of Law and serves regularly as a judge in Gonzaga’s Annual Moot Court Competition.

After graduation, Justice Madsen worked as a public defender in King and Snohomish Counties. In 1982, she joined the Seattle City Attorney’s Office as a staff attorney and was appointed Special Prosecutor in 1984. In that role, Justice Madsen was responsible for developing the child abuse component of the Family Violence Project for the City Attorney’s Office.

Justice Madsen was appointed to the Seattle Municipal Court bench in 1988 by then Mayor Charles Royer. While in the Municipal Court, Justice Madsen began working toward the development of a Domestic Violence Coordinating Committee to comprehensively address violence in the family. As Seattle’s Presiding Judge, Justice Madsen increased opportunities for women and minority attorneys to receive appointments as pro tem judges and increased diversity among the court employee population.

Justice Madsen and her husband, Donald Madsen, live in Fircrest and have four children. Justice Madsen is an active volunteer with the Pierce County public schools and active in the Judges in the Classroom program. In 1993, Justice Madsen was honored as the first recipient of the annual Myra Bradwell Award, honoring an outstanding alumna of Gonzaga University School of Law who has made great strides on behalf of women. In 1998, she was honored as a Very Important Woman by the Thurston County Women’s Symposium, and received the Washington Women Lawyers Vanguard Award in 1998 and again in 2002 for her leadership and inspiration for women in the legal profession. In addition, Justice Madsen has been honored with Department of the Army Certificate of Achievement 1999, Washington Women Lawyers Foundation Award 2001, National Association of Women Judges Special Presidents Award 2002, Seattle University School of Law Woman of the Year 2003, Equal Justice Coalition Judicial Award 2004, the Washington State Trial Lawyers Association Certificate of Appreciation for Contribution to Legal Education 2004; a 2004 award from the Washington State Bar Association for her leadership and work on behalf of the Washington State Gender and Justice Commission; and a 2006 Access to Justice Award of Distinction for Public Service.

Justice Madsen serves as chair of the Washington State Gender and Justice Commission. She also chairs the Supreme Court Personnel Committee; she co-chairs the court’s Internal Rules Committee and serves on the Budget Committee, Administrative Committee, and the Washington Court Reports Commission, as well as on the Board for Judicial Administration. Justice Madsen is a member of the American Judges Association, the National Association of Women Judges, and the Judicature Society.