Gov. Jay Inslee today named Melinda J. Young to the King County Superior Court. She replaces Judge Barbara Linde, who will retire December 15.
Young has served the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for over 23 years and is currently a senior deputy prosecuting attorney as the chair of the economic crimes unit. In that role, she focuses on elder abuse, identity theft and various forms of fraud. Young has also worked in the tort section and as domestic violence unit vice chair. She worked for three years to oversee the retrial of 102 murder cases reversed by the Washington Supreme Court.
“Melinda has a wide breadth of experience and is undaunted by complex challenges, as is evident from her successes in improving our justice system, including her work in creating King County’s Mental Health Court and removing firearms from defendants charged with felony domestic violence crimes. Melinda is highly regarded by all who have worked with her including the defense bar and the bench."
Young has received numerous awards for her work including the Randy Revelle Award for Mental Health Advocacy and the Matthew Simeone ASIS Award for excellence in creating public-private solutions to identity theft challenges.
She earned her law degree from the University of Washington and her bachelor’s degree from Washington State University.