Karen D. Moore at a glance
- Current role
- Judge
- Jurisdiction
- Washington · State
- Judicial service
- Active
Karen D. Moore
Biography
Professional career
- Snohomish County Superior Court judge in Washington State, appointed to the bench in 2021 by Governor Jay Inslee
- She has been recognized as an academic feeder judge, with many former clerks joining law school faculties, and was considered a potential Supreme Court nominee in the early 2000s
- Karen Nelson Moore serves as a United States Circuit Judge on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, with chambers in Cleveland, Ohio
- Law degree from the University of Puget Sound (now Seattle University School of Law) and previously held the role of a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Idaho and Snohomish County
Education
- A.B. from Radcliffe College in 1970, graduating Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude, and her J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1973, also magna cum laude.
Additional information
- Nominated to the Sixth Circuit by President Bill Clinton in 1995 and confirmed by the Senate the same year.
- Born 1948.
- Moore was an editor of the Harvard Law Review, the only female member at the time, and clerked for Judge Malcolm Wilkey and Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun, becoming one of the first women to clerk at the Supreme Court.
- She held a position as an associate at Jones Day and later became a faculty member at Case Western Reserve University Law School, where she was the first tenured female professor and first woman to hold an endowed chair.
- handling family, appellate, and criminal cases.
- She also practiced civil law at Brewe Layman for two decades before joining the bench.
- Judge Moore is active in community service, including the YMCA Youth Mock Trial Program, teaching Street Law, and supervising law students.
- She is currently running for Division One of the Washington Court of Appeals, with endorsements highlighting her expertise in family law, fairness, and judicial temperament.
Applicable Court Rules & Procedures
Recording and broadcasting
Statewide
Washington GR 16 allows video recording, audio recording, and still photography by the news media in courtrooms only after the judge has expressly granted permission.
Video and audio recording and still photography by the news media are allowed in the courtroom during and between sessions, provided (1) that permission shall have first been expressly granted by the judgeWashington GR 16, Courtroom Photography and Recording by the News Media ↗
Statewide
If a Washington judge limits courtroom photography or recording, GR 16 requires particularized findings on the record and treats open access as presumed.
Open access is presumed; limitations on access must be supported by reasons found by the judge to be sufficiently compelling to outweigh that presumptionWashington GR 16, Courtroom Photography and Recording by the News Media ↗
Published courtroom rules
Shared court rules
Washington GR 16, Courtroom Photography and Recording by the News Media
Snohomish County - Superior Court
Scope is limited to the court class in the source claim. Shared court context only; case-type restrictions, exceptions, later amendments and case orders apply. This is not a personal preference or a complete rules inventory.
Official source ↗ · Collected 2026-07-26Sources
Identity source checked July 26, 2026.
Biography sources checked October 11, 2026.
Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts official judicial roster
Identity source · HTML · Source checked July 26, 2026
View Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts official judicial roster ↗Washington GR 16, Courtroom Photography and Recording by the News Media
Statewide source · PDF · Source checked July 26, 2026
View Washington GR 16, Courtroom Photography and Recording by the News Media ↗