Gov. Jay Inslee appointed Bernard Veljacic to the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division 2. He will replace Judge Rich Melnick, who is retiring in January 2021.
Veljacic has served as a Clark County Superior Court judge since May 2014, when Inslee appointed him to the position. Before becoming a judge, Veljacic served roughly six years each as a deputy civil prosecutor and as a deputy criminal prosecutor in the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
From 1999 through 2001, Veljacic was the co-founder and director of a legal aid clinic through Union Gospel Mission Services in Seattle, providing legal aid services to low income clients in civil matters including family law, landlord-tenant and debtor-creditor disputes, and immigration matters.
“Bernard has an impressive breadth of experience, having been a judge for several years after working as both a civil and criminal law practitioner,” Inslee said. “Moreover, with his legal aid background, he understands the challenges facing so many of Washington’s most vulnerable communities.”
Veljacic earned his law degree from Seattle University School of Law and his bachelor’s from Whittier College.