From the Superior Court bench to military intelligence and public defense, Judge Sharonda Amamilo has built a career standing up for constitutional rights and making decisions when it matters most. She is running to deliver her decades-built competence and experience to our state's highest court.
A Judge Who Earned Her Seat in the Courtroom.
Judge Sharonda D. Amamilo has dedicated her life to service; to her country, to the law, and to the people of Washington State. She currently serves on the Thurston County Superior Court, where she was elected in 2020, and sits as a Judge Pro Tempore on the Washington Court of Appeals, Division II. She is the first person of color to serve as a judge in Thurston County.
Before taking the bench, Judge Amamilo spent 12 years at the Thurston County Office of Public Defense, rising to management leadership and representing adults and children in Superior, Municipal, and Tribal courts. She knows what it means to fight for people who have no one else in their corner. Her 23 years of legal practice have given her a firsthand understanding of how the justice system works, and where it falls short.
Judge Amamilo also served over 25 years in U.S. Army military intelligence, retiring as a Chief Warrant Officer. As a Certified Intelligence Oversight Officer, she produced careful written analysis under demanding, time-critical conditions—the same kind of disciplined reasoning the Supreme Court demands. She has called Washington home since being stationed here from Germany at the end of her active service in 1992.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in adult education from Southern Illinois University, a master’s in business administration from Saint Martin’s College, and her J.D. from Seattle University School of Law.
On the trial bench, Judge Amamilo has presided over hundreds of adult felony cases, including violent offenses, domestic violence, illicit drug prosecutions, and property crimes, and has conducted felony trials and complex sentencing proceedings. She also managed complex civil litigation, including corporate taxation disputes, Medicaid fraud, and Puget Sound environmental and water quality matters, along with significant dispositive motions.
Her deepest trial experience is in family law, juvenile, and child welfare cases, where she has handled high-volume, high-stakes proceedings involving custody, parental rights, and child safety. She regularly conducts multi-day evidentiary hearings and reviews commissioner and administrative decisions.
Judge Amamilo is required to preside over appeals from courts of limited jurisdiction and, in her Court of Appeals service, engaged in extensive record review, statutory interpretation, and collaborative deliberation. As a general jurisdiction Superior Court judge, she is experienced and prepared to preside over the full range of cases whenever called upon.
Beyond the courtroom, she serves on the Washington State Sentencing Guidelines Commission, the Department of Children, Youth, and Families Oversight Board, and statewide task forces addressing jail standards and alternatives to incarceration. These roles give her a systems-level perspective on how the Supreme Court’s decisions shape real outcomes for families and communities across Washington.