Profile / Judge Ketu Shah: King County Superior Court Judge Ketu Shah
By Hardeep Rekhi and Ed Budge
We have all been there. You arrive early for your hearing and as you look over your notes, you are half listening to the litigants that are currently presenting arguments to the judge. It is a good practice to get a sense of how the judge runs their courtroom.
One day, I was listening to a defendant who seemed to be struggling with mental health issues, perhaps addiction as well. I witnessed a judge who was patient and listening: really listening — leaning forward in his chair. He was singularly focused on what the defendant was saying despite other distractions in the courtroom.
Based on his responses, the judge was trying to understand the litigant before him. This is precisely how Judge Ketu Shah treats all who come before him, whether in or outside the courtroom, you can count on getting his full attention.
It is clear from the way he runs his courtroom that he strives to listen and understand the issues before him. Judge Shah believes to be an effective judge it is necessary to ensure that those who come to court are heard and respected.
He is not the silent listener type. He asks questions. I recall a rather simple uncontested issue that came before him. He still asked questions and made sure that the lawyers and the court were fulfilling their obligation to protect the parties.
Judge Ketu Shah will be the Presiding Judge for the King County Superior Court in 2024 and 2025. An eloquent, and warmhearted individual, Judge Shah is no stranger to the bench. Before his appointment to the King County Superior Court, Judge Shah served as a judge on the King County District Court, where he presided over the Regional Mental Health Court and Regional Veterans Court. There, he administered calendars that often included dozens of cases per day. In Superior Court, the cases tend to be considerably more complex. When I spoke with Judge Shah about his adjustment to Superior Court, he explained that the deliberate pace of Superior Court allows him to spend more time delving into the legal nuances of each matter that comes before him. He says he enjoys the pace, though the workload is still demanding: “You simply can’t rush. I make it a point to take my time to think through every issue that comes before me to make sure I come to the most appropriate decision I can.”
Judge Shah is the first South Asian judge in Washington and is one of the first South Asian Presiding Judges in the country. I attended Judge Shah’s swearing-
in ceremony and was struck by his close-knit multi-generational family, many members of whom attended the ceremony. A son of Indian immigrants, he quipped that his upbringing was somewhat nomadic with the family moving regularly depending on where his father’s job took them. As a child, Judge Shah lived in California and the Tri Cities, and he graduated from high school in Alaska. He often played midnight soccer during the Alaskan summers. Judge Shah attended Whitman College in Walla Walla where he played soccer for the college all four years, hosted a radio show, and as a Resident Advisor led his section river rafting. He also attended the University of Minnesota Law School. During law school he worked at the public defender’s office as a Rule 9 to help pay for tuition. Also, in law school, Judge Shah was the Managing Editor of the Journal of Law and Inequality — a legal journal focusing on race, poverty, sexual orientation, age, disability and other issues relating to societal inequality. His club soccer team in law school was called Lawn Order, despite playing on the “lawn” for only a few weeks before snow came for the season. After law school, he returned to Washington and settled in Seattle for good. His wife, a native of Seattle, is also the child of immigrants, and the couple have two daughters.
Judge Shah is an avid lover of soccer (he has played every position including keeper, starting at forward and moving progressively back as he has “matured” in his style of play; i.e., becoming slower and has coached high school and youth soccer for years). He enjoys being outside skiing, kayaking, or kicking the ball around. He loves jazz music. And he’s fond of social card games of all sorts, attributing his enthusiasm to childhood games played for hours by kids and adults alike on the floor of his grandparents’ home back in India. “Those were bonding experiences. In those days, very few people in India had a TV. The hours we spent together playing Indian card games on the floor are times that brought generations of family together and times that I’ll never forget.”
Judge Shah was a law clerk bailiff in Superior Court for Judge Carol Schapira, then Judge Shah spent several years in the early part of his career serving as an assistant city attorney for the cities of Vancouver, Seattle, and Bellevue where, among other things, he handled domestic violence prosecutions. Judge Shah also understands the demands of private practice and the challenges faced by sole practitioners. He started his own practice in Bellevue that catered to the needs of his community. His practiced for over thirteen years focusing on immigration law, but also other civil matters, including wills, business contracts and civil litigation. Judge Shah told me that his time in private practice — helping ordinary people navigate a serpentine immigration system — was one of the most gratifying chapters in his legal career.
He was involved with the South Asian Bar Association from the beginning. He volunteered with organizations such as API Chaya, which empowers survivors of gender-based violence and human trafficking to gain safety, connection and wellness. He also spent hours volunteering at neighborhood legal clinics.
In his judicial career, Judge Shah has been involved in numerous committees for Superior Court and statewide committees advocating for our courts. He has been involved in therapeutic courts and was a dean for judicial college, helping train over 150 new judges over the years. He has spoken to legislators and county council members about the importance of funding our courts and will continue to emphasize the critical role our courts play for a civil society to resolve disputes. He emphasizes our judges and jurors are the backbone of our rule of law. He often tells his neighbors that the most important action you can take as a citizen is to vote, and the second most important action is to serve on a jury. Making sure we have skilled judges and diverse jurors will ensure our society remains civil. Making sure our courts are funded and accessible will be his mission during his Presiding Judge tenure.
Hardeep Singh Rekhi is an owner and partner at Rekhi & Wolk, P.S. His practice focuses on individual employee rights as well as class action wage and hour litigation.Ed Budge is a trial attorney with Budge & Heipt, PLLC. He focuses on civil rights cases involving in-custody deaths in jails and prisons as well as excessive force cases against law enforcement.
