On Monday, January 14, 2019, Hon. Andrea Chin was sworn-in for her first judicial term on the Seattle Municipal Court bench. A Seattle native who grew up in the Mount Baker neighborhood, Judge Chin was elected in November 2018 and brings 26 years of public service to the court.
Judge Chin is a graduate of Occidental College and Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, California. After law school, Judge Chin returned to Seattle to serve as an Assistant City Attorney with the City of Seattle. In this position, she prosecuted criminal cases, argued appeals at all levels of state appellate courts, and served as the supervisor of the Specialty Court Unit where she provided oversight of the city’s participation in Mental Health Court and Veterans Treatment Court.
Judge Chin is a long-time member of the Asian Bar Association of Washington (ABAW). She served on the Joint Asian Judicial Evaluation Committee from 2011-2014, as an ABAW Board Member from 2013-2016, and as ABAW President in 2017.
Judge Chin’s experience as a prosecutor has shown her the impact crime has on a community and the importance of considering how mental illness, drug addiction, poverty or trauma may influence criminal behavior. She understands that no two cases are alike and that consideration of both mitigating, as well as aggravating, circumstances should be factored into the outcome of each case. She was motivated to run for an SMC judicial position because she believes her experience will allow her to make a significant contribution to the bench.
Judge Chin looks forward to the challenge of serving in the judicial role as a neutral party tasked with the responsibility of being fair and impartial in resolving cases. As a firm believer in specialty courts, like Mental Health Court, she looks forward to continued collaboration between the court, prosecution and defense to develop alternative methods to traditional prosecution that are effective in addressing both community safety concerns and the needs of the defendant.
Judge Chin was elected to replace Judge C. Kimi Kondo who retired on January 11, 2019. The Honorable Ed McKenna, Willie Gregory, Damon Shadid, Adam Eisenberg, Anita Crawford-Willis and Faye Chess were also sworn in for four-year judicial terms.
CONTACT: Gary Ireland, Public Information Officer,(206) 684-8710