Raquel Montoya-Lewis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Raquel Montoya-Lewis
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Justice of the Washington Supreme Court | |
| Assumed office January 6, 2020 |
|
| Appointed by | Jay Inslee |
| Preceded by | Mary Fairhurst |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Raquel Devahl Montoya
April 3, 1968 Spain |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | University of New Mexico (BA) University of Washington (MSW, JD) |
Raquel Devahl Montoya-Lewis was born on April 3, 1968. She is an American lawyer and judge. She currently serves as a justice on the Washington Supreme Court. Governor Jay Inslee chose her for this important role on December 4, 2019. She took the place of Justice Mary Fairhurst, who was retiring.
Contents
Meet Justice Raquel Montoya-Lewis
Justice Montoya-Lewis helps make important decisions for the state of Washington. The Washington Supreme Court is the highest court in the state. Judges on this court listen to difficult cases and decide how laws should be understood and applied.
Her Early Life and Learning
Raquel Montoya-Lewis was born in Spain. Her father was in the United States Air Force at the time. She grew up in New Mexico.
She is a member of the Pueblo of Isleta, which is a Native American community. She also has family from the Laguna Pueblo. Her mother was born in Australia, and both Raquel and her mother are Jewish.
Justice Montoya-Lewis went to college at the University of New Mexico. There, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. She then went to the University of Washington. She earned two more degrees there: a Master of Social Work and a law degree (called a Juris Doctor).
Her Journey to the Court
Before becoming a judge, Montoya-Lewis was a professor at Fairhaven College, which is part of Western Washington University.
She has a lot of experience working with Native American tribes. From 2008 to 2011, she was the main judge for the Lummi Nation. She also served as the chief judge for the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe and the Nooksack Indian Tribe. She worked as a judge for many other tribes across the country too.
From 2015 to 2020, she served on the Whatcom County Superior Court. Governor Inslee first appointed her to this position in December 2014. She won elections in 2015 and 2016 to keep her seat.
On January 6, 2020, she officially became a justice on the Washington Supreme Court. She is the second Native American person to serve on a state supreme court. She is also the first enrolled member of a tribe to hold such a position.
In November 2020, she ran for election to keep her seat on the Supreme Court for a full six-year term. She won with 58 percent of the votes.
More About Judges
- List of Native American jurists
- List of first women lawyers and judges in Washington
