Rebecca Pennell — a Richland native and graduate of UW — will serve the Eastern District of Washington
WASHINGTON. D.C. – Today, Rebecca L. Pennell, President Biden’s nominee for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, was confirmed for the lifetime appointment by the Senate with a vote of 50-48.
Judge Pennell is a native of Central Washington and grew up in Richland, where she attended Richland High School. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Washington, graduating summa cum laude, and earned her J.D. from Stanford Law School. After law school, Judge Pennell clerked for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington under Judge Robert H. Whaley in Spokane.
In 1999, Judge Pennell moved to Yakima after being awarded a Skadden Fellowship at TeamChild, an organization that provides legal services to youth in the area. Following the fellowship, she became a public defender with the Federal Defenders of Eastern Washington and Idaho, a role she held from 2000 until her appointment to the Washington Court of Appeals in Spokane in 2016.
Judge Pennell has also served as a Justice Pro Tempore with the Washington Supreme Court. Beyond her roles as a public defender and judge, she established re-entry drug court programs in Yakima and the Tri-Cities to further support Washingtonians.