Judge E. Rania Rampersad - Superior Court

Biography

Judge E. Rania Rampersad was appointed to the Superior Court bench in 2023 by Governor Jay Inslee. Before joining Superior Court, Judge Rampersad served as a King County District Court Judge. She was unanimous appointment by the King County Council in 2021 and subsequently elected by the residents of East King County to retain her seat. Prior to joining the bench, she served as a judge pro tempore in eight different municipal courts in the Puget Sound region.

Judge Rampersad has practiced law at every level of court in Washington (municipal to Supreme), and Tulalip Tribal Court. She has served various roles in the criminal justice system; in addition to her work as a judicial officer, she has worked as a public defender and prosecutor. Judge Rampersad strongly supports the work of therapeutic and community courts. She served as the assigned public defender for Yakima County’s DUI Court and presided over Redmond Community Court hearings in her judicial capacity. Judge Rampersad also has experience in civil law. In District Court, she presided over emergency domestic violence and sexual assault protections orders, among other civil matters. As an attorney, she represented institutional clients in class action and other complex civil litigation, served as a civil prosecutor in state licensing matters, and represented indigent clients as a civil legal aid attorney. Judge Rampersad began her legal career by clerking for (then Chief) Justice Barbara Madsen at the Washington State Supreme Court.

Judge Rampersad believes passionately in supporting human rights and the rule of law, particularly for underserved communities. To further this aim, she has lived and worked in multiple countries throughout her legal career. She worked for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Dadaab Kenya Refugee Camp where she evaluated asylum claims for survivors of torture and war crimes, and screened out terrorists from resettlement to the United States. She worked for International Bridges to Justice in Beijing, China training defense attorneys who risked their lives to serve minority communities including Tibetan, Yi, Mongolian, and internally displaced people. She worked for Asylum Access in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania representing urban refugees who fled from violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In New York, she represented immigrant survivors of domestic violence. In her judicial capacity, she Chaired the King County District Court’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, and spearheaded efforts to increase court outreach to underserved communities.

Judge Rampersad has also been heavily involved in service to numerous bar associations and community organizations. In 2019, she founded the Joint Minority Mentorship Program, which has served hundreds of law students from historically under-represented backgrounds, including women, persons with disabilities, and members of LGBTQ+, ethnic, racial, and religious minority communities. Under her leadership, the program grew to include eleven bar association partners and to serve 125 participants in 2021. In light of this work, the Vietnamese Bar Association of Washington recognized her with their Community Service Award in 2021. Judge Rampersad is also the President-Elect of the William L. Dwyer American Inn of Court, and was Past-President of the South Asian Bar Association of Washington (SABAW). Judge Rampersad regularly engages with her community through volunteer work. Her past work includes volunteer service with Seattle Children’s Hospital – Des Moines Auxiliary, Jewish Family Services, the YMCA, local public schools, and various other service organizations.

Judge Rampersad earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from the University of Washington in Seattle, with a formal focus in Finance, a Certificate of International Studies in Business, and a Minor in Chinese Language and Literature. She earned her Juris Doctor from Georgetown University. Judge Rampersad grew up in Bellevue and attended Newport High School. She currently resides in Bellevue with her husband and three young children.