In a ceremony filled with emotion and supreme institutional symbolism, which took place at the Temple of Justice in Olympia , Greek-American Theo Angelis was officially sworn in as the youngest member of the Washington State Supreme Court .
His appointment, which was announced last March by Governor Bob Ferguson , was received with particular enthusiasm by the legal and political world of the region.
Speaking about this great choice, Governor Ferguson did not spare praise, stating to the Washington State Standard (WSS) that anyone who has worked with Judge Angelis recognizes that, in addition to a brilliant legal mind , he is also the kindest person one could meet in his career. With his swearing-in, Angelis is called to succeed an emblematic figure of American justice, retired Judge Barbara Madsen , who was the first woman elected to this court in 1993, and served with exceptional success as chief judge from 2010 to 2017.
During his speech, Theodore Angelis made a clear and profound human promise to the citizens, emphasizing that he will be a prepared and prudent judge who will approach each judicial case with passion, dedication and absolute respect for all who appear before the court. He emphasized that he will always care deeply about how each decision affects the lives of people in the State of Washington, while setting the bar high for his institutional role, noting that their work is not limited to simply adjudicating cases. On the contrary, it extends to overseeing the entire judicial system of the state, expressing his absolute commitment to its continuous review, restructuring and reform , a task that he considers even more important for social cohesion. The new judge brings with him a significant legacy from the private sector, as he was previously a distinguished executive at the law firm K&L Gates , where he successfully specialized in intellectual property and appeals , representing major domestic and international companies. However, his professional career is also characterized by a strong social dimension, as he has provided extensive pro bono legal services for the protection of children who were deprived of the necessary legal assistance, immigrants, and people facing the harsh face of homelessness.
The personal and family path of Theodoros Angelis carries the deep roots of Hellenism, tradition and refugeeism.
He is the son of a Greek immigrant father and a mother whose parents were uprooted as refugees from Turkey . The swearing-in ceremony was intensely emotional for the Greek community, as the opening and closing prayers were delivered by his proud father, the Reverend Father John Angelis , retired priest of the historic Church of St. Demetrius in Seattle . The judge himself is an extremely active member of the Greek Orthodox Church , having served in the past as a catechism teacher and a member of the parish community council, while currently he actively participates in the council of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco , bearing the highest honorary title of Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate .
His assumption of his new duties coincides with a period of enormous challenges and intense political confrontation, as the Supreme Court is expected to soon find itself at the center of a fierce legal battle over the future of the state income tax for high earners .
The tax was approved by the legislature earlier this year, and the justices will be called upon to make a historic decision, deciding whether to overturn or follow nearly a century of case law that has traditionally considered such a tax unconstitutional. But beyond the purely judicial arena, Angelis will immediately face a tough, open election race to retain his seat on the bench. He is expected to face strong and experienced candidates, such as Dave Larson , a retired Federal Way Municipal Court judge who is officially supported by the state Republican Party and narrowly lost his campaign for the supreme court in 2024; Sharonda Amamilo , a family and juvenile court judge in Thurston County; and Greg Miller .
This election campaign is expected to be highly competitive and expensive, with the first official funding figures showing that Angelis has already raised $144,000 , Larson is a close second with $136,000 , while Amamilo is at $15,000 . The winner of this ballot will have the honor of serving the remainder of Madsen’s term , which ends in January 2029 , before the court’s regular six-year terms begin. This heavy institutional responsibility comes on top of a truly impressive academic background, as Theodore Angelis holds degrees from some of the world’s leading educational institutions, including Claremont McKenna College , the London School of Economics , Oxford University , and Yale Law School . In the past, he had also successfully served as an associate judge on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia , under the supervision of a judge appointed by Ronald Reagan. Today, the eminent jurist is married, the father of two, and divides his time between Seattle and Olympia , ready to carve out his own illustrious path in the history of American justice.
