Janice E. Ellis

Judge Janice E. Ellis graduated from Dartmouth College in 1981 and Northeastern University School of Law in 1987. She began her practice with the Seattle firm of Lane Powell Moss & Miller in 1987 and moved to the Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in 1990, where she worked in both the criminal and civil divisions of the office until 1995. Judge Ellis was a member of the Torts Division of the Washington State Office of the Attorney General from 1995 to 1999, and continued as a Special Assistant Attorney General until 2001. She also served as an Mandatory Arbitration Rules arbitrator and a Guardian Ad Litem during that period of her career. Judge Ellis was elected Prosecuting Attorney for Snohomish County in 2002 and took office on January 1, 2003. She ran unopposed in 2006, and was honored with the Snohomish County Bar Association’s Attorney of the Year award in 2009. Judge Ellis served as the Prosecuting Attorney for the Tulalip Tribes from December 1, 2009 until she was appointed to the bench by Governor Gregoire in December, 2011. Judge Ellis began her service on the Snohomish County Superior Court bench on January 3, 2012. Judge Ellis has served the community in many ways, notably through volunteer participation on a number of local boards, including the Dawson Place Child Advocacy Center Board of Directors, the YMCA Board of Trustees, and the Deaconess Children’s Services Board of Directors. During her tenure as Prosecuting Attorney, she was Chair of the Governor’s Council on Substance Abuse, and served on the Attorney General’s Operation Allied Against Meth Task Force. Judge Ellis has two children and resides in east Snohomish County.