Benjamin Santos
Gov. Bob Ferguson announced the appointment of Benjamin Santos to the King County Superior Court on Monday.
The appointment, effective April 1, fills the vacancy left by Judge Annette Messitt, who resigned from the bench on March 31.
“Ben Santos will be an exceptional addition to the King County Superior Court bench,” Ferguson said in a statement. “He has worked to protect the rights of both victims and the accused, inside and outside the courtroom. His lifelong commitment to justice, combined with his broad legal experience, will serve Washingtonians well.”
A first-generation American, Santos’ sense of justice is shaped by his parents’ activism in the 1970s, when they fought for Filipino cannery workers’ rights and opposed the Philippine dictatorship. Before pursuing a law degree, Santos advocated for marginalized residents in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District, working to mitigate the impacts of local development projects.
A senior deputy prosecutor with over two decades of legal experience in King County, Santos has worked in several key roles within the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. He currently serves as Assistant Chief Deputy in the Juvenile Division, having previously led the Misdemeanor and Special Assault units. He also served as a law clerk for current Washington Supreme Court Justice Mary Yu when she was on the King County Superior Court bench.
Santos holds a law degree from American University in Washington, D.C., and a bachelor’s degree from Washington State University, where he co-founded the Filipino American Student Association and one of the first Filipino American fraternities in the country.
He lives in Seattle with his wife and two children.