COMMUNITY PROFILE
BENJAMIN SANTOS
King County Superior Court Judge
BENJAMIN SANTOS
EDUCATION
Washington College Of Law, American University, Washington, D. C. J.D., May 2002
Washington State University, Pullman, WA, B.A. in Communications, May 1995
Washington State Bar Association, Admitted 2002
National Asian Pacific Islander Prosecutor's Association – NW Chapter
National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Seattle, WA
Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, August 2004 – 2025
Juvenile Division Assistant Chief Deputy, 2022 – 2025
Special Assault Unit Chair/Children’s Justice Center Executive Director, 2018 – 2022
District Court Unit Chair, 2016 – 2018
Domestic Violence Unit Vice Chair, 2012 – 2016
Trial deputy rotations in District Court, Juvenile, Mainstream Felony, Felony Domestic
Violence, and Special Assault units, 2004 – 2012
The Honorable Mary I. Yu, King County Superior Court Law Clerk, September 2003 – August 2004
ORGANIZATIONS
Annual Seafair Pista sa Nayon – Youth 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament, Founder & Organizer (Est. 1996)
Seahawks Flag Football League & Gridiron Football, Youth Flag Football Coach/Assistant Coach (2018–2022)
Pagasa Scholarship Fund, Founder
Supporting underrepresented high school youth in Seattle/King County (Est. 1997)
Filipino Community of Seattle –Filipino Youth Empowerment Project (FYEP),
Mentor & Camp Counselor (1995–1999)
Philippine American Foundation for Charities of Washington, D.C., Volunteer (2001–2003)
Asian Pacific American Coalition for Equality (APACE),
Fundraising Committee Member (1998)
Northwest Filipino American Students Alliance Conference, Keynote Speaker (2004)
St. Therese Catholic Academy, Career Day Speaker (2021, 2022)
Somali Family Safety Task Force, Speaker (July 2019)
CHOOSE 180, Volunteer Facilitator (2018)
YMCA High School Mock Trial, Volunteer (2025)
Seattle University, Guest Lecturer on Juvenile Justice (2025)
Judge Charles V. Johnson Youth and Law Forum at Seattle University, Volunteer (2018–2019)
Washington State Supreme Court Minority and Justice Commission, Voting Member (2017–2018)
My Lolo Rudy used to run underground casinos called the Filipino Social Improvement Club—we still have his gambling chips. Community leaders like Uncle Bob Santos told stories of kids going there for free food. While it was illegal, it was also a space for men to socialize and survive. Years later, when I was a prosecutor, I realized my own office had once prosecuted him, tied to the old Seattle police bribery scandal. I asked my dad how we celebrate Rudy if he broke the law. He said: you have to understand the context—anti-miscegenation laws, segregation, limited options. People did what they had to do to survive. That perspective shaped how I view cases: context doesn’t erase an offense, but it informs what justice requires.
I have dedicated my career to mentoring and empowering youth, recognizing that all young people—whether system-involved or not—benefit from support, guidance, and opportunity. With others, I founded the Annual Seafair Pista sa Nayon Youth 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament at Seward park to foster leadership and teamwork and established the Pagasa Scholarship Fund in 1997 to support underrepresented high school students in Seattle and King County. Through coaching youth flag football with the Seahawks Flag Football League and Gridiron Football, mentoring students through the Filipino Youth Empowerment Project, and speaking at St. Therese Catholic Academy’sCareer Day, I have worked to inspire and uplift youth from diverse backgrounds.
I have also been involved in broader community engagement efforts. As a volunteer with the Philippine American Foundation for Charities of Washington, D.C., I supported initiatives showcasing Philippine culture and providing community services to Filipino Americans in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Serving on the fundraising committee for the Asian Pacific American Coalition for Equality (APACE) in 1998, I contributed to efforts promoting civil rights and mobilizing Asian Americans in multi-racial solidarity campaigns. In 2004, I had the honor of delivering the keynote address at the Northwest Filipino American Students Alliance Conference, encouraging young leaders to engage in activism and civic participation. This is a statewide organization I helped establish and remain connected to today.
As a speaker for the Somali Family Safety Task Force in July 2019, I helped connect families with legal resources and community safety initiatives. In 2018, I served as a volunteer facilitator for CHOOSE 180, working directly with youth to provide meaningful alternatives to legal involvement and encourage positive decision-making.
My commitment to legal education and reform is reflected in my work as a volunteer for the Judge Charles V. Johnson Youth and Law Forum, where I introduced students to legal careers, and as a guest lecturer at Seattle University, discussing juvenile justice, restorative approaches, and diversion programs. Additionally, as a voting member of the Washington State Supreme Court Minority and Justice Commission, I worked to address systemic barriers in the legal system. These experiences have reinforced my belief that all young people deserve guidance, opportunity, and access to a justice system that serves them, not hinders them..
Photography courtesy of friends and family of Justice Benjamin Santos
I was in chambers, looking south out my window. Just over the trees, I could see the Bush Hotel, where my great-grand-uncle landed over a hundred years ago. Though it’s only four blocks away, that journey—from the Bush Hotel to the courthouse—couldn’t have been longer. It was paved by so many who sacrificed for me, for us. This isn’t really about me. It’s about those who paved the way: my great-grandmother, my Lola Rudy—who first came here as a stowaway with nothing but the shirt on his back; my grandfather, who fought in World War II, survived the Bataan Death March, and still had to fight decades later for the benefits he was promised; and my parents, who in their twenties lived in a basement apartment on Beacon Hill with no windows, but built a life through government assistance and raised the first college graduates in our family. These are all stories of pursuing, protecting, and ultimately realizing the American Dream. That’s why, when I step on the bench and hear “All rise,” I think of them. I think of the responsibility I now carry to uphold the Constitution and the laws that made these journeys possible.
Justice Benjamin Santos' Investiture Ceremony at Filipino Community of Seattle
photography by: Charissa Soriano : @_charissasoriano @purplebutterfly.photo. charissasoriano.com
What I hope people saw was not just me, standing there in a robe getting sworn in. I hope they saw what our community is really about. When people talk about Filipinos, they often talk about our hospitality, generosity, love of family—all true. But people don’t often intentionally talk about our deep sense of community, our tradition of service, our willingness to sacrifice for others. Me becoming a judge isn’t necessarily all of that—but what got me to the point where I could be a judge was that. When I looked out from the stage and told the story of my great-granduncle, my Lolo Rudy, my Lolo Ray, my parents, then my own children, I saw so many faces whose stories overlapped with mine.I knew—and I hope they knew—that I wouldn’t be where I am, and we wouldn’t be where we are, but for them being part of our community. It’s hard to put into words, but I hope people walked away not just proud of me—they were proud of us. That’s how I felt. I did not feel like I was standing there alone. I felt like I was bringing my community with me to the bench when I sit in court, preside over cases, and do my best to protect the Constitution and uphold the laws of our state. I’m doing it with the help of—and keeping in mind—our community.
