First in the state, second in the nation: Gov. Jay Inslee appoints first American Indian justice to Washington high court

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee named Judge Raquel Montoya-Lewis to the state Supreme Court on Wednesday, saying the appointment of the first American Indian justice to the state’s highest court marked a historic day. Montoya-Lewis, 51, was a Whatcom County Superior Court judge since 2015, previously served as chief judge for the Nooksack and Upper Skagit Indian Tribes in Washington and worked as an associate professor for Western Washington University. She also has served with the Lummi Nation Tribal Court and as a judge for the Northwest Intertribal Court System.