Barbara A. Madsen (née Rupnick; born March 1, 1952) is an American lawyer who has served as an associate justice of the Washington Supreme Court since 1993.
In her years on the Washington Supreme Court, Madsen has sat in judgement on thousands of cases.
[1] On November 5, 2009, Barbara Madsen was unanimously elected by her peers to serve as Chief Justice of the Washington Supreme Court.
Madsen was born in Chicago, the daughter of Edward John and Marion Durkin Rupnick.
The court found its imposition to be racially biased and therefore in violation of the Constitution of Washington.