King County Superior Court Judge Mary I. Yu, a Vashon resident, was recently named the 2011 Outstanding Judge of the Year, along with Judge Steven C. González, by the Washington State Bar Association.

The two jurists were honored at the bar association’s annual dinner last month.

In October 2010, remarks reportedly made by two members of the state Supreme Court regarding race and the criminal justice system triggered concern among members of the community, particularly in communities of color.

Yu joined González and Professor Robert Chang of the Seattle University Law School in their effort to convene a forum to address the issue, according to the bar association. Subsequently, the Race and Criminal Justice Task Force was created, and at a gathering in Olympia in March, Yu, González and researchers from around the state presented data highlighting the effects of disparate treatment by the criminal justice system on communities of color — including disproportionate rates of arrests, severity of penalties imposed and rates of incarceration.

The task force’s presentation revealed both the need to make far-ranging changes in the justice system and the energy that exists to do the work, the bar association said.

Yu, who recently moved to Vashon, was the guest speaker at the Island’s annual Interfaith Martin Luther King Commemorative Service earlier this year.