King County Prosecuting Attorney

For her entire career, Leesa Manion has served the people of King County at the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, dedicating her life's work to public safety and public service. Elected King County Prosecuting Attorney in November of 2022, Leesa has invested in strengthening relationships with law enforcement and community-based partners across King County to combat gun violence, improve crime victim services, and enhance behavioral health interventions to help address harmful behavior. 

Among her first actions as Prosecuting Attorney, Leesa created a Gender-Based Violence and Prevention Division and an Economic Crimes & Wage Theft Division to deliver a more unified focus and approach to addressing these crimes. In her first year of office, she convened multiple public safety summits focused on improving the investigation and prosecution of wage theft, hate crimes, and sexual assault. 

Under Leesa’s leadership, the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (PAO) has championed victim services by launching a first of its kind digital Protection Order Portal, creating mobile access to important safety resources. In response to growing concerns over serious juvenile behavior, Leesa’s Juvenile Division launched a Safer Schools Strategy aimed at preventing school tragedies and keeping youth engaged with educational supports.  

Since her election, Leesa has made improving quality of life conditions for King County residents and small businesses a priority. In 2023, the PAO initiated a pilot program aimed at enhancing the prosecution of retail crimes in partnership with the Seattle City Attorney’s Office, law enforcement, and the Retail Industry Leaders Association. Leesa’s team regularly files charges against fentanyl dealers, in both residential and commercial burglary and robbery cases, and launched a collaborative effort to address prolific graffiti cases.

Leesa is leading a statewide project designed to reimagine a more effective and collaborative Involuntary Treatment Act (ITA) court system where key partners work together to improve health and public safety by providing critical mental and behavioral health interventions faster and in the least restrictive means possible.  

Prior to her election, Leesa served as the PAO’s Chief of Staff for 15 years. In that role, Leesa implemented effective programs that improved public safety, enhanced victim services, and reduced racial disproportionality.

Leesa is also a co-founding partner of Choose 180, a proven and effective pre-filing diversion program that helped reduce overall juvenile crime to all-time lows. She served as a key stakeholder in launching the PAO’s Regional Domestic Violence Firearm Enforcement Unit, which leads the nation in its multi-disciplinary approach to tracking and enforcing Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs), as well as the removal, storage and return of firearms surrendered as the result of a court order.  

Leesa Manion is the first woman, the first person of color, and the first Asian-American to be elected to serve as King County Prosecuting Attorney. Leesa is also the first Korean-American woman in the United States to be elected Prosecuting Attorney. In 2024, she helped launch the first ever Pacific Northwest Chapters of the Korean Prosecutors Association and the National Asian Pacific Islander Prosecutors Association.

Outside of the office, Leesa serves on the Board of the Alliance for Gun Responsibility and served for 12 years on the Board of the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle. She is an award-winning member of the Korean Prosecutors Association and a member of the Korean American Bar Association (KABA) of Washington.  Leesa also enjoys spending time with her two young adult children.