Judge Christine Quinn-Brintnall

Judge Chris Quinn-Brintnall was elected in 2000 to the Court of Appeals, and re-elected in 2006 and 2012. Division Two hears appeals from Pierce County and 12 other counties in southwest Washington and the Olympic Peninsula.

From 2004 to 2006, Judge Quinn-Brintnall served as the court's Chief Judge. In April 2012, she was elected by her colleagues as Presiding Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, representing all three divisions in the state.

Raised in Astoria, Oregon, Chris has lived in Pierce County since 1973. She graduated from The Evergreen State College and earned a law degree at the University of Puget Sound. At UPS she served on Law Review and was named Outstanding Woman Law Student for two years. She later clerked for Judge James A. Anderson at the Court of Appeals, Division One.

Judge Quinn-Brintnall is an experienced trial and appellate attorney. Before being elected to the bench, she worked for 15 years in criminal law and 6 years in public civil law. She argued many cases before the Court of Appeals and the state Supreme Court, including 97 cases that set precedent.

While working for Pierce County (January 1983- November 2000), Quinn-Brintnall was Chief Criminal Deputy under Prosecuting Attorney William Griffies and then senior criminal prosecutor under Prosecuting Attorney John Ladenburg. Later, in the civil division, she worked on municipal incorporations, land use, contracts, bankruptcy, elder care, labor law, and other issues.

Since 2000, Judge Quinn-Brintnall has written more than 1000 opinions at the Court of Appeals and served as a justice pro tempore on the Washington Supreme Court several times.

Chris is a member of Washington's Board for Judicial Administration and co-chairs its Best Practices Committee. She is a former state bar examiner in criminal procedure and evidence. She also judges mock trial competitions for the YMCA and moot court competitions at Seattle University and the University of Washington law schools.

Judge Quinn-Brintnall supports many community organizations including the Emergency Food Network, Read2Me tutoring program now run by Tacoma Community House, YWCA, Tacoma Youth Symphony, and Rotary and church projects. She is a member of St. Matthew Episcopal Church, Browns Point.

Chris is married to Matt Temmel. Matt recently retired after a long career as a performance auditor for state and county government and now teaches a continuing education course on Public Policy at the University of Washington Tacoma.