Acting Chief Judge Tracy Staab

Judge Tracy Staab was elected to the Court of Appeals, Division III in 2020 and took office in January 2021.

Judge Staab graduated cum laude from the University of Puget Sound (now Seattle University) School of Law in 1993. She clerked for Judge Stephen Brown of Division III. She spent the early part of her career in private practice before becoming a public defender, first with the City of Spokane and then with the Federal Defenders. As a Federal Defender, Judge Staab focused on appellate work primarily before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

In 2009, Judge Staab was selected as one of the first Spokane Municipal Court Judges, along with Judge Mary Logan and Judge Shelley Szambelan. The three judges developed the new court with the goal of using evidence-based practices with demonstrated results. Within a few short years, the court earned local, regional, and national recognition for its innovative therapeutic courts. Judge Staab worked as a judge on Spokane Municipal Court for twelve years until she was elected to the Court of Appeals.

Judge Staab lives in Spokane with her husband and a barn full of animals. Their daughter recently graduated from Washington State University and lives in Seattle.