Mary Isabel Yu at a glance
- Current role
- Former Associate Justice
- Jurisdiction
- Washington · State
- Judicial service
- Former
Mary Isabel Yu
Former Associate Justice · Supreme Court of Washington
Biography
Professional career
- Associate Justice, Washington Supreme Court, 2014-present
- Retired Associate Justice of the Washington Supreme Court, the first Asian American and first Latina justice on the court, serving from 2014 until December 31, 2025
- Yu held the role of Deputy Chief of Staff to King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng and as a deputy in the Criminal and Civil Divisions
- She mentored attorneys and law clerks, served on the board of FareStart, and was the Mock Trial judge for Seattle Girls’ School for 17 years
Education
- Her honors include the 2025 Shero Award from NOW Seattle, the 2025 Anshei Ma’aseh Award of Distinction, an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Dominican University, and the 2024 “Outstanding Judge” Award from the King County Bar Association.
- Loyola University Chicago
Additional information
- Served until her retirement on December 31, 2025, after 25 years on the bench.
- She was re‐elected in 2014, 2016, and 2022.
- In 2021, Seattle University established the Justice Mary I. Yu Endowed Scholarship Fund in her honor.
- Appointed by Governor Jay Inslee on May 1, 2014, Yu became the court’s first Asian American, first Latina, and first Hispanic woman.
- Notable fact: Yu officiated Washington’s first same‐sex marriages on December 9, 2012.
- Considered for the Washington Supreme Court in 2007 but did not fill the vacancy.
- In 2000, she was appointed to the King County Superior Court, presiding over criminal, civil, juvenile, and family cases, including hundreds of adoptions.
- She graduated from St. Mary’s High School in 1975, obtained a B.A. in theology from Dominican University in 1979, an M.A. in Religious Studies from Mundelein College of Loyola University in 1989, and a J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School in 1993.
- Born 1957.
- Date of birth: 1957-06-19
- Before law school, she worked for the Archdiocese of Chicago, rising to Director of the Office of Peace and Justice.
- Mary Isabel Yu was born in Chicago, Illinois, to a Chinese father and Mexican mother.
- Yu co‐chaired the Washington Supreme Court’s Minority and Justice Commission, chaired the Board for Judicial Administration’s Public Trust and Confidence Committee, and taught at Seattle University School of Law.
- Birth place: Chicago
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 ↗
Sources
Identity source checked August 22, 2026.
Biography sources checked October 11, 2026.
Washington Supreme Court current judicial profile
Identity source · HTML · Source checked August 22, 2026
View Washington Supreme Court current judicial profile ↗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 ↗