Gov. Jay Inslee appointed Camara Banfield today to the Clark County Superior Court. She replaces Judge Bernard Veljacic, who was recently appointed to the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division II.
Since 2004, Banfield has served as a deputy criminal prosecutor with the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, most recently serving as the office’s chief criminal deputy prosecutor. In this role she supervises the criminal division, manages its budget, and shapes the office’s policies and procedures around criminal prosecutions. In 2020, Banfield co-founded the Action Reform Committee to review and reform practices and procedures within the prosecutor’s office, in an effort to confront longstanding racial inequities in the criminal justice system.
Banfield is also heavily involved in the community. Since July 2020, she has served on the Vancouver School District Board of Directors, where she is a member of the Discipline Equity Steering Committee and the Foundation for Public Schools. She also trains youth in track and field, mentors at-risk youth and volunteers with the local meals-on-wheels program.
“Whether as a prosecutor or as a resident of Clark County, Camara has committed herself to serving and improving her community,” Inslee said. “I am eager to see her bring this same energy and passion to the bench.”
Banfield earned both her law degree and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon.