Judge Raul Martinez

Judge Martinez was appointed to the King County District Court bench in January 2023. His 21 years of diverse private and public sector legal experience includes working as a civil litigator representing a broad range of clients; a legal advisor and transactional attorney for corporate, small business and government clients; and a prosecutor in felony superior and appellate court cases. Judge Martinez also previously served as counsel in multiple law enforcement involved homicide inquest cases, including in the roles of special counsel to the Court and as an attorney in private practice. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Seattle University School of Law in 2001.  Judge Martinez is bilingual in English and Spanish.

Judge Martinez’s commitment to public service includes prior service on the Northwest Justice Project’s Board of Directors and Fund Development Committee; and the Latina/o Bar Association Board of Directors and Judicial Evaluation Committee, among many other local groups. He has also served as a volunteer coach for youth basketball and soccer in the Northshore area.

Judge Martinez has a deep understanding of the impacts of poverty, discrimination, addiction, mental health illness, and violence. His father is a Vietnam War veteran who suffered from and overcame PTSD and addiction.  His mother is an immigrant who, despite hardship, modeled what it meant to be a community leader.  In his earliest years, his family followed the West Coast crops, working as farmworkers, while living in migrant farmworker camps, before settling in Eastern Washington so that he and his siblings could get an education. During his youth, he saw violence, addiction, and discrimination firsthand. He is the first in his family to graduate from high school, college, and/or law school. His personal history informs his understanding of many who come before our courts today.