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OLYMPIA, Wash. — Gov. Bob Ferguson on Monday appointed civil rights attorney Colleen Melody to the Washington Supreme Court, selecting the longtime head of the Attorney General’s Wing Luke Civil Rights Division to replace retiring Justice Mary Yu.
Ferguson announced the appointment at the Temple of Justice in Olympia. It is his first selection to the state’s highest court since taking office.
Melody has led the civil rights division since its creation in 2015, when Ferguson — then attorney general — established it. She has overseen some of the state’s most high-profile civil rights litigation, including Washington’s successful challenge to former President Donald Trump’s first travel ban targeting citizens of several Muslim-majority nations.
A Spokane native, Melody earned her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Washington, graduating first in her law school class. She worked for four years in the civil rights division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., where she received multiple national awards for her work.
Since joining the Attorney General’s Office in 2015, Melody has overseen a division that grew to 35 attorneys, investigators and staff. She led or helped lead cases challenging the Trump administration on issues including the travel ban, birthright citizenship, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and immigration enforcement actions at local courthouses.
Melody has also argued before the Washington Supreme Court, including in State of Washington v. City of Sunnyside, a case that upheld the attorney general’s authority to enforce state civil rights laws.
Her honors include the Legal Foundation of Washington’s Charles A. Goldmark Distinguished Service Award, the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s Jack Wasserman Memorial Award, and the Washington Attorney General’s Steward of Justice Award.
Melody will assume her seat after Yu retires Dec. 31.
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Grant McHill
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