Growing up in a rural Renton, Barbara Madsen developed a depth of empathy she now finds helpful as the new chief justice of the Washington Supreme Court.

“I personally like that she has small-town roots,” said former Chief Justice Gerry Alexander, who encouraged fellow justices to vote for Madsen. “It builds maybe a feeling of empathy and compassion, which never hurts. Those are qualities that can be helpful to a judge.”

Leaving Renton among the first to graduate from Hazen High School in 1970, she quickly rose to state’s top court.

Since joining the court 17 years ago, Madsen’s decisions led to overturning Tim Eyman’s $30 car tabs and an initiative that would have rolled back property taxes.

She voted against a lawsuit trying to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act; her vote of approval would have allowed gay marriage.

“It was a tough case,” she said, adding that it was good that it came before the court.

“We’d suffer as a society if we didn’t have these conversations,” she said.

She replaced Alexander after he served as chief justice for nine years.

“I wanted to make sure we had a really qualified individual to take over the chief justice position,” Alexander said. “I think Barbara really fills that bill.”

Madsen’s spacious office is lined with short bookshelves, which are filled with finely bound volumes of law. Tall windows shed light on rich leather furniture. A worn leather briefcase rests on the floor.

“She’s very careful to hear everything she needs to and read everything she needs to before she makes a decision,” Alexander said.

Water-color paintings hang above a modest desk, which is adorned by a red glass apple. A few books behind her chair show wear, one is partially pulled out from the shelf.

“She’s very thoughtful,” he said.

State courts tend to approach the law in a more conservative way than federal courts, Madsen said. It’s the court’s job to interpret what the Legislature intended.

“By and large I believe in the system we have,” she said. “When we cannot uphold laws, then that’s really for the court when the rubber meets the road.”

As chief justice, Madsen hopes to find a more stable and predictable source of funding for courts.

Taking on a leadership role, her hope is also to encourage judges to better understand and respect the people who come through their courts.

“To do that, you need to educate judges on all kinds of issues,” she said. “At the end of the day, it’s not just trying to settle a contract dispute; it’s a person’s life.”

In 1984 she started prosecuting child-abuse and adult domestic-violence cases, work that directly affected peoples’ lives. Appointed special prosecutor for the Seattle City Attorney’s Office, she developed the child-abuse component within the Family Violence Project.

“Courts are uniquely in a position to shape the future to intervene in these situations,” she said. “Kids who come out of those homes aren’t destined to do well.”

She was appointed to the Seattle Municipal Court bench in 1988.

In her office, family pictures with her children rest against the wall by a basket of flowers. Her love for family kept her in the area, she said.

Madsen’s parents still own the Kennydale home where she was raised. In her youth, the area was rural.

“I grew up getting fresh eggs from our neighbors,” she said.

She spent Saturdays visiting Boehms Candies in Issaquah, before hiking at Snoqualomie Falls.

A “lapsed” Catholic, she graduated from St. Anthony’s School in eighth grade. She earned the nickname “Mother Superior” in high school.

“What I learned at the knees of the nuns (was) respect and being grateful for what I was given,” she said. “What I do have, though, in my heart is a belief in the spirit of the law.”

Hazen was founded by juniors, she said. “We had two years of being top dogs.”

As the founding editor of the student newspaper HIGHLIFE, she remembers marketing ideas for the school’s colors and mascots.

In a yearbook photo she stands proudly with a feathered pen raised as a torch. Her foot rests on the back of student bearing a sword. A banner reading “The pen is mightier than the sword” hangs above the newspaper staff at their typewriters.

She studied political science at University of Washington, and she had romantic ideas about being an international news correspondent.

“I was just fascinated with international issues,” she said.

She soon realized it would be easier to impact public policy with a law degree. She graduated from Gonzaga University’s Law School in 1977.

“There is a saying, ‘All politics are local,’” she said.