Judge David S. Mann

JUDGE MANN was appointed to Division 1 of the Court of Appeals in August 2016, and was retained by election in 2017 and reelected in 2020. Mann is currently the senior judge on Division 1 and served as Chief Judge from 2020 to 2022. Judge Mann also serves on the statewide Board of Judicial Administration and Judicial Information Systems Executive Committee.

Judge Mann received a degree in geophysics (geology and physics) from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He then worked as a professional geophysicist for 6 years exploring for oil in frontier areas in the U.S. and Africa. During that time Mann completed the coursework for a masters in groundwater hydrology. Looking for new challenges, in 1988 Judge Mann decided to attend law school. He graduated with honors and a certificate in Environmental Law from Lewis and Clark Law School (Portland, OR) in 1991 and moved directly to Seattle. For 26 years before his appointment to the appellate bench Judge Mann had a statewide practice as a trial and appellate lawyer with an emphasis on state and federal environmental, land-use, real property, water, and administrative law. His accomplishments included a successful argument before the U.S. Supreme Court representing the appellant in a Freedom of Information Act case in 2011.

Judge Mann lives in Seattle's Ravenna neighborhood in a 120-year old craftsman home. Mann enjoys travel, live music, building arts and crafts furniture, and long walks in Seattle and Everett with his wife, Everett Municipal Court Judge Remy Leonard, and their two pugs (Eddie Vedder and Jelly).