WAGOP calls on justice to recuse herself in income tax ruling over alleged conflict

By Tim Clouser
The Center Square

The Washington State Republican Party wants a state Supreme Court justice to recuse herself from ruling in a legal challenge to a millionaire’s tax, citing a potential conflict of interest.

Lawsuits are mounting over the 9.9% income tax on annual household earnings above $1 million, with the case destined to reach the state’s highest court in the next year or so. The bench may be asked to decide whether to overturn its 1933 ruling that declared income as property and outlawed a state income tax.

Five of the nine positions on the Washington Supreme Court are up for election this fall, including that of Justice Colleen Melody, who Gov. Bob Ferguson appointed to fill a vacancy in January. He made that decision after receiving the “strongest possible recommendation” from Solicitor General Noah Purcell.

Records obtained by The Center Square show Purcell, who works in the Washington State Office of the Attorney General, discussing with state lawmakers in December how to pass a 9.9% income tax so the Supreme Court would reconsider the 1933 ruling, while avoiding voter referendums to reject the tax.​

“Soon, Melody will be ruling on the income tax case that the AG’s Office will be defending. The same office that recommended her,” WAGOP posted to X, citing communications uncovered by The Center Square. “Melody should RECUSE herself before the case begins — things are too close for comfort.”​

Melody did not respond to The Center Square’s request for an interview before publishing on Wednesday.

The Center Square also didn’t receive an immediate response as to whether Melody would recuse herself.​

According to the state’s Code of Judicial Conduct, it’s up to the justice to recuse themselves when their “impartiality might reasonably be questioned.” One thing that might warrant recusal is when a justice learns that a party in a case has provided substantial financial support to their own judicial campaign.

According to the state Public Disclosure Commission, AGO staff have donated thousands of dollars to Melody’s 2026 campaign, including $500 from Purcell. WAGOP Chairman Rep. Jim Walsh said it’s not a surprise to him, given that Melody worked with Purcell when Ferguson was the state attorney general.

“People outside of left-wing politics don’t fully appreciate how influential Noah Purcell is,” Walsh told The Center Square in an interview on Wednesday. “He’s not a dumb guy. He is tactically very smart, and frankly, was Bob Ferguson’s brain, so-called, when Ferguson was the state attorney general … It’s not a surprise that Purcell has played a big role in Melody’s ascension to the state Supreme Court.”

Purcell did not immediately respond to The Center Square’s request for an interview before publishing.

Mike Faulk, the AGO’s deputy communications director, sent The Center Square a statement in response to an inquiry about Melody’s potential conflict of interest and the AGO’s donations to Melody’s campaign.

“It was Noah Purcell who advised our client, the Legislature, on this topic. Justice Melody was the chief of our office’s Civil Rights Division, enforcing civil rights laws. She played no role in advising legislators or any other clients about this topic,” he wrote. “Other questions about the justice should go to the justice.”

The statement didn’t address the fact that Purcell, an employee of the agency that will defend the income tax in court, endorsed the appointment of a justice who could potentially rule on its constitutionality.

Walsh said if Melody doesn’t recuse herself, he thinks it could damage the court’s credibility and make it easier to move a lawsuit challenging the 9.9% tax into federal court. A lawsuit seeking to block implementation of the millionaire’s tax is currently before the Klickitat County Superior Court.​

The case likely won’t reach the state Supreme Court until after the 2026 election, in which Melody and several other justices are campaigning to retain their positions on the liberal bench. Seattle-based attorney Scott Edwards is the only challenger who has filed with the PDC so far to run against Melody.

“Colleen possesses the rare combination of exceptional legal talent and a real knack for and dedication to seeking input from and remaining engaged with the legal community and beyond,” Purcell wrote to Ferguson last October. “When the court faces difficult decisions, she will be able to resolve them.”