The Hon. Faye Chess was recently elected as the Presiding Judge of the Seattle Municipal Court. Chess will serve a two-year term, effective Jan. 1, 2023 to Dec. 31, 2024.
In addition to Chess, The Hon. Andrea Chin was elected as Assistant Presiding Judge, and the Hon. Willie Gregory will continue as the third member of the court’s Executive Committee. Current Presiding Judge Adam Eisenberg was not re-elected in November during the General Election and will leave the court at the end of December.
The Presiding Judge leads the management and administration of the court, makes judicial assignments, and supervises the court’s five non-elected Magistrates and the Court Administrator. When the Presiding Judge is unavailable, the Assistant Presiding Judge fulfills the duties of Presiding Judge.
“I am honored to be selected to lead the court at this time and I will partner with my colleagues, court leaders and staff, our stakeholders and community to ensure SMC achieves our mission,” said Chess. “I want to personally thank Judge Eisenberg for his leadership and many years of service to the court and the Seattle community. He has left a lasting impact including implementing the collaborative Domestic Violence Intervention Project and championing Seattle Youth Traffic Court.”
Chess has been serving as Assistant Presiding Judge since July 2022. She was appointed to the Seattle Municipal Court bench in April 2018 after serving as Magistrate and was first elected to the position in November 2018. Judge Chess served as a Judge Pro Tempore in King County District Court for over 22 years.
Prior to being a judge, Chess previously served as the Director of Labor Relations for Group Health Cooperative and Sr. HR Consultant for Providence Health Services and Swedish Medical Center. For many years, she worked in the public education sector, first as Deputy General Counsel and Interim Executive Director of Human Resources for Seattle Public Schools specializing in employment and labor, special education, and student disability plans and later as the Executive Director of Human Resources and General Counsel for Tukwila School District. She began her career as a public defender in Seattle.
