A Strong  Record of Service

Judicial Experience 

Judge Diaz began his career in private practice, first as an associate at the international law firm Fulbright & Jaworski LLP in Houston, Texas, then at the litigation boutique in Seattle, litigating complex commercial and white-collar criminal defense matters. 

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Judge Diaz then spent a decade as Assistant United States Attorney at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Seattle ("DOJ"), where he helped found the office's Civil Rights Program and investigated and/or prosecuted a wide variety of civil rights matters. 

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In 2016, President Obama nominated Judge Diaz to be a U.S. District Court Judge for the Western District of Washington and in 2018, Governor Jay Inslee appointed Judge Diaz to the King County Superior Court, where he presided over approximately four dozen trials in all types of criminal, civil and domestic matters. He also served a term as the Chief Judge of King County’s Patricia H. Clark Children & Family Justice Center, and served on the Court’s Executive, Budget, Rules and History committees.

 

In 2022, Governor Inslee then appointed Judge Diaz to his present position on the Washington Court ofAppeals, Division I, where he has authored over 200 opinions in all types of matters.

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Community Work 

Prior to joining the bench, Judge Diaz regularly volunteered at the King County Bar Association's Neighborhood Legal Clinic Program's Spanish Language Legal Clinic, which he later helped merge with the El Centro de la Raza clinic. He served on KCBA's Pro Bono Service Committee, was Chair of its Neighborhood Legal Clinic Program's Advisory Committee, and Chair of its Spanish Clinic Subcommittee. 

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Judge Diaz remains active in the community. He is an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Seattle University School of Law, where he is teaching independent studies students and externs. Until recently, he was on faculty at the DOJ’s National Advocacy Center, the Washington State Judicial Institute, and the Washington State Judicial College. He is currently the chairperson of the Washington State Supreme Court’s Interpreter and Language Access Commission and is a Member of the Washington Commission on Judicial Conduct.