Washington State Supreme Court — Position 5 · 2026

Experience.
Integrity.
Justice.

Judge Dave Larson (Ret.) is the only candidate that brings 41 years of legal experience, 18 years on the bench and 23 years as a trial lawyer. Dave's innovative leadership brings a demonstrated commitment to fair, effective, and independent courts that leaves politics at the front door.

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Judge Dave Larson in judicial robes
Judge Dave Larson
Retired · Federal Way Municipal Court
Exceptionally Well Qualified 23 years as a highly rated trial lawyer and 18 years as a highly rated trial judge.
TVW · 2026 Video Voter Guide

Learn why our state needs Dave Larson.

Why Judge Dave Larson

Two Principles. Eighteen Years. One Standard.

1
"Love the freedom of others as much or more than your own."
2
"It is more important to do right than it is to be right."

These aren't campaign slogans. They are the principles Judge Larson has lived by and applied on the bench — in thousands of hearings, under real pressure, with real consequences.

Dave believes the role of a justice is not to impose ideology. It's to ensure that every person who enters the court system is treated with fairness and dignity, and that the law is applied as written, consistently, and without political pressure from any direction.

Why Dave Larson
Judge Dave Larson at the Federal Way Municipal Court bench
270,000+
Case filings managed as Federal Way's Presiding Judge
Meet Judge Dave Larson

The Experience Washington's Highest Court Deserves

The Leader
41 Years of Legal Service

Across more than four decades in law, Dave is the only candidate who has worked with both Democrats and Republicans to improve Washington's courts. He serves on numerous bar association and judicial committees, and he's recognized statewide and nationally for his innovative, effective approach to criminal justice. Dave's commitment runs deeper than the courtroom, reaching into civics education and the communities he calls home, and he has a lifetime of building stronger communities and a more trusted court to show for it.

The Judge
18 Years on the Bench

As the Presiding Judge of the Federal Way Municipal Court, Dave has managed over 270,000 criminal/court filings. A reputation — earned one case at a time — for fairness, dignity, and sound judgment. The most experienced and best prepared candidate for this position and the only candidate who has actually managed a court; 16 years as presiding judge. His innovative approaches have been recognized on a national level.

The Lawyer
23 Years as a Trial Lawyer

Civil trial lawyer in state and federal courts. Rated "AV Preeminent" by Martindale-Hubbell — the highest possible peer rating, reserved for attorneys ranked at the pinnacle of professional excellence by fellow lawyers and judges. The only candidate who has been in-house litigation counsel, owned his own litigation law firm, acted as a mediator and arbitrator, and practiced complex civil litigation in a large prestigious firm.

The Person
A Lifetime of Community Service

Beyond the courtroom, Dave has spent decades serving his community and beyond. He has served as President of a school board, taught civics to both youth and adults, and founded a service club supporting people with developmental disabilities, and much more. For Dave, fairness and dignity are not abstractions reserved for the bench, they are commitments he has lived out for a lifetime, in the schools, neighborhoods, and service organizations he helped build.

Meet Dave Larson
"Washington's Supreme Court doesn't just decide cases — it adopts the rules that create the experience each of us encounter within the courts. That responsibility demands justices who have experienced the effects of these rules first-hand, from multiple perspectives."
— Judge Dave Larson
The Lesser-Known Half of the Court's Power

Most People Know the Court Decides Cases. Few Know What Else It Does.

Washington's Supreme Court also sets all of the rules of procedure for the entire state legal system — writing and revising the rules that govern how every courthouse and every case operates. These rules shape the delivery of justice for every Washingtonian, and this rulemaking authority is one of the most powerful — and least understood — functions of the Court.

Understand the Court's Full Role
RCW 2.04.190 Revised Code of Washington · Excerpt
Rules of pleading, practice, and procedure generally.

The supreme court shall have the power to prescribe, from time to time, the forms of writs and all other process, the mode and manner of framing and filing proceedings and pleadings; of giving notice and serving writs and process of all kinds; of taking and obtaining evidence; of drawing up, entering and enrolling orders and judgments; and generally to regulate and prescribe by rule the forms for and the kind and character of the entire pleading, practice and procedure to be used in all suits, actions, appeals and proceedings of whatever nature by the supreme court, superior courts, and district courts of the state. In prescribing such rules the supreme court shall have regard to the simplification of the system of pleading, practice and procedure in said courts to promote the speedy determination of litigation on the merits.

Bench & Community

Why Commitment to Service Matters.

There is a version of judicial service that begins and ends at the bench. A judge arrives, hears cases, issues rulings, and leaves. The law is applied — but the judge never fully sees where it lands.

That has never been Dave Larson's version. For more than four decades, Dave has understood something that doesn't show up in legal briefs: the law doesn't exist in isolation. It exists inside families, schools, neighborhoods, communities, and the individual dignity each person should expect in their life.

A justice who has never stood in those places — who has never gotten involved within their own community, who has never sat on a school board, never taught civics to youth and adults, never built a service club for people with developmental disabilities — is a justice who is making decisions about a world they understand only from above.

Read Dave's Full History of Service
Why It Matters at Every Level
Judges who are embedded in their communities make decisions that actually work in those communities.
A justice who has run a trial court, served on judicial committees, and served in leadership positions within the judiciary understands how Supreme Court rules play out in real courtrooms — not just on paper.
A justice who has led a school board understands how legal decisions ripple into families, classrooms, and neighborhoods.
A justice heavily involved in civic education for youth and adults understands what it means to make the justice system legible — and trustworthy — for everyone.
A justice who has taught new judges for ten years at the state judicial college understands how to properly review the decisions of our lower court judges.
Judge Dave Larson in robes speaking to elementary school students
Federal Way city proclamation with Judge Larson, staff, leaders, and children
Judge Dave Larson speaking in a special needs classroom

Decades of showing up in person — leading a civics lesson in an elementary classroom, recognizing young residents at Federal Way City Hall alongside fellow councilmembers, and connecting with special-needs students in their own classroom.

Dave Larson in a classroom, in both teacher and judge attire
Dave Larson speaking with high school students
Dave Larson speaking with Civil Air Patrol cadets

Switching between teacher and judge in the classroom, fielding questions from high-school students, and mentoring young Civil Air Patrol cadets — Dave brings the law to life for students of every age.

Judge Dave Larson
Dave is the proud father of two sons, one a police officer and the other a physician, with two daughters-in-law and five grandchildren. He is a lifelong Washingtonian, and his life in public service has always been grounded in the belief that strong communities depend on fairness, responsibility, and mutual respect — and that a judge's responsibility to those values doesn't end when the courtroom door closes.
Washington State Supreme Court · Position 5 · 2026

Washington Deserves a Justice Who Can Bring the Experience Our Supreme Court Needs

In 2024, Dave earned over 1.6 million votes and came within 0.61% of winning this seat. Help close that margin in 2026 — fund the campaign, spread the word, and make sure every Washingtonian knows there is an experienced, independent, nonpartisan choice on their ballot.

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