---
title: "Raul Martinez | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/raul-martinez-judge-king-county-district-court-west-division-shoreline-facility-2812-wa"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Raul Martinez

King County District Court · Judge

## Profile

- Court: King County District Court
- State: Washington
- Role: Judge
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-07-26

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### photography recording

Scope: 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.

Evidence excerpt: 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 judge

[Washington GR 16, Courtroom Photography and Recording by the News Media](https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_rules/pdf/GR/GA_GR_16_00_00.pdf)
Source checked: 2026-07-26

### limitations on recording

Scope: statewide

If a Washington judge limits courtroom photography or recording, GR 16 requires particularized findings on the record and treats open access as presumed.

Evidence excerpt: Open access is presumed; limitations on access must be supported by reasons found by the judge to be sufficiently compelling to outweigh that presumption

[Washington GR 16, Courtroom Photography and Recording by the News Media](https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_rules/pdf/GR/GA_GR_16_00_00.pdf)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_dir/index.cfm?fa=court_dir.persondetail&indid=2812&orgid=1063)
- [Official roster](https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_dir/index.cfm?fa=court_dir.persondetail&indid=2812&orgid=1063)
- [Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts official judicial roster](https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_dir/index.cfm?fa=court_dir.persondetail&indid=2812&orgid=1063)
- [Washington GR 16, Courtroom Photography and Recording by the News Media](https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_rules/pdf/GR/GA_GR_16_00_00.pdf)

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## Biography

### Professional career

- Nonpartisan judge of the King County District Court’s Shoreline Division in Washington, appointed in January 2023 and currently serving a term through January 11, 2027

### Education

- Seattle University School of Law in and is bilingual in English and Spanish — J.D. (2001)

### Additional information

- Election: Incumbent is running for re‐election in the November 3, 2026 general election.
- Appointed in January 2023; previously served in multiple public and private legal roles.
- Martinez has served on the Northwest Justice Project’s Board of Directors and Fund Development Committee and the Latina/o Bar Association’s Board of Directors and Judicial Evaluation Committee.
- He has also volunteered as a youth basketball and soccer coach in the Northshore area.
- His upbringing in migrant farmworker camps, his father’s experience as a Vietnam War veteran overcoming PTSD and addiction, and his mother’s role as a community leader shaped his understanding of poverty, discrimination, addiction, mental health, and violence.
- He is the first in his family to graduate from high school, college, and law school.



## Published courtroom rules

### Shared court rules

- [Washington GR 16, Courtroom Photography and Recording by the News Media](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-7133c6bd26c80972b86e0d31) — 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](https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_rules/pdf/GR/GA_GR_16_00_00.pdf). Collected 2026-07-26.
