Hon. Elizabeth J. Berns joined the King County Superior Court Bench in January 2013 after 20 years in legal practice. She is the project chair for the King County Domestic Violence and Child Maltreatment Coordinated Response Oversight Committee and the judicial lead for the court’s TraumaCare Project. Judge Berns has served as the lead dependency and family treatment court judge and the adult drug diversion court judge. She is a co-author of chapters in the “Sexual Offense Bench Guide for Judges” and in the “Domestic Violence Manual for Judges.” She is a recipient of the Norm Maleng Award in honor of her work to educate fellow judicial officers about domestic violence and its impacts on LGBTQ+ communities.

Judge Berns has served on the American Judges Association Board of Governors and on the advisory board for the Center for Children and Youth Justice eQuality Project. She is also a national advisor for the Battered Women’s Justice Project and serves as faculty for the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. Judge Berns graduated from the University of Washington with a bachelor of science degree in environmental health and law and with a juris doctor degree from the University of Puget Sound School of Law.