Mary Isabel Yu (born 1957) is an American

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

and

Associate Justice Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some state ...

of the

Washington Supreme Court The Washington Supreme Court is the highest court in the judiciary of the U.S. state of Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the ...

and former judge of the

King County Superior Court The Superior Court of Washington for King County (more commonly, the King County Superior Court) is the largest trial court in Washington state. It is based at the King County Courthouse, 516 Third Avenue, in downtown Seattle, Washington. It als ...

. She is the state's first openly gay,

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...

, and Latina Justice. She is also the 6th woman currently serving and the 11th woman ever to serve on Washington state's Supreme Court.

Early life and education

Yu was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

to a

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

father and

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

mother.Ronald K. Fitten
Top Prosecutor Is 'On Mission In Life' -- What Drives Her Is Need To Serve
''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington (s ...

'' (June 7, 1999). She graduated from St. Mary's High School in 1975.Deborah D. Fleck
Mary I. Yu: Deputy Chief of Staff Office of the King County Prosecuting Attorney
''Equal Justice Newsletter: Volume 3, Number 1'' (March 2000). Yu then attended Dominican University and graduated in 1979 with a degree in

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. In 1989, Yu earned a graduate degree in theology from Mundelein of Loyola University. After completing her undergraduate education, Yu went to work for the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago The Archdiocese of Chicago ( la, Archidiœcesis Chicagiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in Northeastern Illinois, in the United States. It was established as a diocese in 1843 and ...

.Maureen O'Hagan
A special ruling: judge of the year
''

'' (November 26, 2005). She was initially hired by Rev. Francis J. Kane as a

secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

for the Office of Peace and Justice for the Archdiocese of Chicago, but eventually rose to become director of the Office of Peace and Justice.Beth Barrett Bloom
Profile: Judge Mary Yu - Opening Doors and Passing on the Gifts of Mentorship
, ''King County Bar Association''. Yu enrolled at

Notre Dame Law School Notre Dame Law School is the professional graduate law school of the University of Notre Dame. Established in 1869, it is the oldest continuously operating Catholic law school in the United States. ND Law is ranked 22nd among the nation's "Top 1 ...

in 1990. She graduated with her J.D. degree in 1993.

Legal career and judicial service

In 1999,

King County Prosecuting Attorney The King County Prosecuting Attorney is a non-partisan elected official in King County, Washington. The Prosecuting Attorney leads the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, and prosecutes all felonies (as well as all misdemeanors in unincorpo ...

Norm Maleng Norman "Kim" Maleng (September 17, 1938 – May 24, 2007) was an American attorney and politician who served as the King County Prosecuting Attorney for 28 years. He was also an architect of Washington's Sentencing Reform Act. Early life a ...

named Yu as his deputy chief of staff. In 2000, Washington Governor

Gary Locke Gary Faye Locke (born January 21, 1950) is an American politician and diplomat serving as the interim president of Bellevue College, the largest of the institutions that make up the Washington Community and Technical Colleges system. Locke serv ...

appointed Yu to replace retiring judge Janice Niemi on the

.Alex Fryer
Governor fills 3 positions on court for King County
''

'' (March 2, 2000). Yu was considered a leading contender to replace Justice Bobbe Bridge on the

when Bridge retired in December 2007.David Ammons
Gregoire picks Spokane jurist for high court
''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

'' (December 4, 2007). Ultimately, Governor

Christine Gregoire Christine Gregoire (; née O'Grady; born March 24, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 22nd governor of Washington from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, she defeated Republican candidate Dino Rossi in 2004, and again ...

appointed

Debra L. Stephens Debra Leigh Stephens (née Williams; born 1965) is an American lawyer who has served as an associate justice of the Washington Supreme Court. She was appointed to the court in December 2007 by Governor Christine Gregoire and took office on January ...

to fill the vacancy. On December 9, 2012, at midnight, Mary Yu officiated the first same-sex marriages in Washington state. Judge Yu's name (coincidentally pronounced as "marry you") was deemed "the perfect name for the job" by '' The Stranger'' columnist

Dominic Holden Dominic Holden is an American journalist. He was National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Associations 2016 Journalist of the Year Award awardee, and one of '' The Advocate''s 50 most influential LGBTs in America in 2017. He was director of Seattle He ...

Appointment to Washington Supreme Court

On May 1, 2014, Judge Yu was appointed by Washington Governor

Jay Inslee Jay Robert Inslee (; born February 9, 1951) is an American politician, lawyer, and economist who has served as the 23rd governor of Washington since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a member of the U.S. House of Representat ...

to the

, making her the first openly

LGBTQ ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

member of the court, in addition to the first Latina-American and

Asian-American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...

. She is the 11th woman to serve on the Washington Supreme Court (and one of six currently serving), the first person of Asian descent, the third person of Hispanic descent, and the first Hispanic woman. Yu, who is openly gay, is also the first

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

person to hold this position. Yu is one of ten LGBT state supreme court justices currently serving in the United States. She was sworn in on May 20, 2014 as an associate justice of the

. Justice Yu ran unopposed in 2015 to complete the term and was the highest vote getter in the State. Justice Yu was subsequently elected to the Supreme Court for a six-year term in 2016. In October 2018, Yu joined the majority when the court abolished the state's death penalty because they found its racist imposition violated the

Constitution of Washington The Constitution of the State of Washington is the document that describes the structure and function of the government of the U.S. State of Washington. The constitution was adopted as part of Washington Territory's path to statehood in 1889. An e ...

Personal life

Yu resides in Seattle and in Olympia. On March 16, 2021, she appeared on ''

Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, Los ...

'' where she was recognized for the appropriateness of her name as she also is a frequent wedding officiant. On May 24, 2022, she threw the ceremonial first pitch for a game between the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics.

Awards

Yu is a Distinguished Jurist in Residence at

Seattle University School of Law Seattle University School of Law, or Seattle Law School, or SU Law (formerly University of Puget Sound School of Law) is the law school affiliated with Seattle University, the Northwest's largest independent university. The School is accredite ...

. In 1984, Yu received the Caritas Veritas award from Dominican University, as an alumna exemplifying a search for truth through charity or service.

References

External links

Washington Courts, Supreme Court Members: Justice Mary Yu, Official Court Biography

Official Justice Mary Yu Campaign Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yu, Mary 1957 births Living people American jurists of Chinese descent American judges of Mexican descent Dominican University (Illinois) alumni Lawyers from Chicago LGBT judges LGBT lawyers Loyola University Chicago alumni Notre Dame Law School alumni Lawyers from Seattle Justices of the Washington Supreme Court American LGBT people of Asian descent LGBT people from Illinois LGBT people from Washington (state) LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people 21st-century American judges LGBT appointed officials in the United States 21st-century American women judges