Judge Rebecca L. Pennell

DIVISION III, POSITION 3

January 19, 2016–Present

Appointed by Governor Inslee

I was born in Boulder, Colorado, but moved to the Tri-Cities in 1977 so that my father could take a job at Hanford. My father spent the bulk of his career working for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. My mother busied herself raising four kids and, once we reached school age, she began teaching math at Columbia Basin College in Pasco.

I graduated from Richland High School and then went on to the University of Washington. After receiving a BA in philosophy, I attended Stanford Law School. During law school, I was nicknamed the public interest queen. I participated in various clinics and public service projects. My work fostered an interest in learning Spanish. After receiving my law degree, I went to Mérida, Mexico for nine months, where I lived with a host family and studied Spanish. At the conclusion of my time in Mexico, I returned back home to Eastern Washington for a two-year clerkship with U.S. District Judge Robert Whaley.

In addition to my clerkship, my work as an attorney has included a Skadden fellowship with TeamChild and 15 years with the Federal Public Defenders. The bulk of my federal defender work consisted of trials and appeals. But during my last several years, I helped develop federal drug court teams in Yakima and Richland. Working in the drug court context fostered a desire to move away from litigation and towards collaborative decision-making. After receiving kind words of encouragement from various mentors, I decided to pursue a judicial career.

I was appointed to Division III of the Court of Appeals on December 31, 2015. It was a happy new year. I am now acting chief judge of Division III and serve on the Civil Legal Aid Oversight Committee and the Rules Committee. My transition to the bench has been nothing but positive, thanks to the help of supportive colleagues, a tremendous court clerk, and great staff, especially my judicial assistant, Bruce Bennett.

Thanks to the court’s excellent technical support staff, I am able to perform the bulk of my judicial work remotely, while continuing to live with my family in Yakima. I enjoy running, skiing, and community involvement, especially the Downtown Yakima Rotary Club and Rotary Youth Exchange.