Ben Santos (’95 Comm.) is the first Filipino American man to serve as a judge on King County Superior Court in Washington.
Governor Bob Ferguson appointed Santos in last March, attributing his choice to Santos’ lifelong commitment to justice and more than two decades of legal experience.
“Today, I stand on the shoulders of many who paved the way,” Santos said in a statement released by the governor’s office. “I’m deeply honored to be appointed by the governor and to serve the people of King County and the state of Washington in this new chapter of public service.”
Santos, a first-generation Filipino American, credited his parents for shaping his sense of justice and commitment to public service. In the 1970s, Santos’ parents fought for Filipino cannery workers’ rights and opposed the dictatorship of President Ferdinand Marcos, who used martial law to take authoritarian control of the Philippines from 1972 to 1981.
Prior to pursuing his law degree, Santos coordinated with local government, stadium developers, and stakeholders to advocate for marginalized residents and support community development in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District.
He then attended law school at American University in Washington, D.C., where he interned with the Civil Rights Division in the Department of Justice and with the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia. He also worked as a consultant for the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development.
Santos then clerked for Washington Supreme Court Justice Mary Yu when she served on King County Superior Court. He spent 20 years with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, where he worked to reduce juvenile recidivism rates and address Washington’s statewide backlog of untested rape kits. He was assistant chief deputy of the office’s juvenile division, led the special assault and district court units, and served as vice chair of the domestic violence unit.
While earning his bachelor’s degree at WSU, Santos cofounded the Filipino American Student Association and one of the first Filipino American fraternities in the country.