Honorable Catherine McDowall

Term of Office: Jan. 2023 - Jan. 2027

Judge Catherine McDowall was appointed to the Seattle Municipal Court bench in September, 2020. She has served the court as a Pro Tem Judge since 2013. Judge McDowall received her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, then attended the University of Virginia School of Law for her Juris Doctorate. She began her career in private practice doing civil litigation in Washington, D.C. before moving to Seattle, where she joined the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office as a deputy prosecutor in 1998 and was later promoted to senior deputy prosecutor. Judge McDowall has also served as a Pro Tem Judge in King County District Court and at King County Superior Court, Juvenile Division.

Outside the law, Judge McDowall has volunteered extensively with non-profit groups in her community, including church and school councils, as well as neighborhood little league programs. Her husband, John, is a lifelong Seattle resident, and they have four children.