Rebecca Pennell

Rebecca Pennell is a judge for District 3 of the Washington Court of Appeals Division III. She assumed office on January 19, 2016. Her current term ends on January 10, 2027.

Pennell ran for re-election for the District 3 judge of the Washington Court of Appeals Division III. She won in the general election on November 3, 2020.

On March 21, 2024, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Pennell to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.^[1] As of May 9, 2024, she was awaiting a confirmation vote from the full U.S. Senate.^[2] Click here for more information on Pennell's federal judicial nomination.

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On March 21, 2024, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Pennell to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.^[1] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
Name: Rebecca Pennell
Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington
Progress
79 days since nomination.
ANominated: March 21, 2024
AABA Rating: Well Qualified
Questionnaire: Questionnaire
AHearing: April 17, 2024
Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
AReported: May 9, 2024
AConfirmed:

Confirmation vote

As of May 9, 2024, Pennell was awaiting a confirmation vote from the full U.S. Senate. Click here for a list of other nominees awaiting a full Senate vote.

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Pennell's nomination on April 17, 2024. Pennell was reported to the full Senate on May 9, 2024, after a 11-10 committee vote.^[3][4] Click here for a list of other nominees awaiting a committee vote.

Nomination

On March 21, 2024, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Pennell to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.^[1] Click here for a list of other nominees awaiting a committee hearing.

The American Bar Association (ABA) rated Pennell Well Qualified.^[5] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Biography

Pennell attended high school in Richland, Wash. She is fluent in Spanish.^[6]

Education

Pennell received her B.A. from the University of Washington and her J.D. with distinction from Stanford Law School.^[6]

Career

• 2016 - Present: Judge, Washington Court of Appeals
• 2000-2016: Attorney, Federal Defenders of Eastern Washington and Idaho

Pennell was also a law clerk to U.S. District Court Judge Robert H. Whaley.^[6]

Awards and associations

• 2012-2015: Former chair, Ninth Circuit Lawyer Representatives Coordinating Committee
• Chair, Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference
• Former board member, YWCA of the Yakima
• Former board member, Yakima Area Arboretum^[6]

About the court

The Counties of the Eastern District of Washington (click for larger map)

The Eastern District of Washington has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

The geographic jurisdiction of the Eastern District of Washington consists of all the following counties in the eastern part of the state of Washington. The court's headquarters are in Spokane, with courthouses in Yakima, and Richland.

To read opinions published by this court, click here.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

• The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
• The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
• The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

• As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

• After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

• If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
• If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

• The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

• If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
• If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.

Elections

2020

See also: Washington intermediate appellate court elections, 2020

General election

General election for Washington Court of Appeals Division III District 3

Incumbent Rebecca Pennell won election in the general election for Washington Court of Appeals Division III District 3 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Rebecca Pennell (Nonpartisan)	98.8	136,674
		Other/Write-in votes	1.2	1,723

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 138,397
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2016

See also: Washington judicial elections, 2016

Judge Pennell filed to run for election in 2016. She was unopposed.^[7]

Election results

Washington Court of Appeals, Division 3, District 3, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Rebecca Pennell Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	106,059
Total Votes (100% reporting)		106,059
Source: Washington Secretary of State Official Results

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Rebecca Pennell did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

See also

2020 Elections

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• United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington

External links

• United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington

Footnotes

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v • e Washington Court of Appeals
Current	Marlin Appelwick  •  Stephen Dwyer  •  Linda C.J. Lee (Washington)  •  John Cooney  •  Robert Lawrence-Berrey  •  Erik D. Price  •  Beth Andrus  •  Bill Bowman (Washington)  •  Lori Smith (Washington)  •  George Fearing  •  Bradley A. Maxa  •  Bernard Veljacic  •  Rebecca Pennell  •  J. Michael Diaz (Washington)  •  David S. Mann  •  Anne Cruser  •  Rebecca Glasgow  •  Roger Leishman  •  Cecily Hazelrigg-Hernandez  •  Tom SeGuine  •  Lisa Keeler  •  Rita Latsinova  •  Linda Coburn  •  Tracy Arlene Staab  •  Meng Li Che  •
Former	Debra Stephens  •  Gerry Alexander  •  Susan Agid  •  Mary Kay Becker  •  Ronald Cox  •  Anne Ellington  •  Kenneth Grosse  •  Linda Lau  •  Robert Leach (Washington)  •  David Armstrong (Washington)  •  C.C. Bridgewater  •  Elaine Houghton  •  J. Robin Hunt  •  Joel Penoyar  •  Christine Quinn-Brintnall  •  Marywave Van Deren  •  Stephen Brown (Washington Court of Appeals judge)  •  Kevin Korsmo  •  Teresa Kulik  •  John Schultheis  •  Dennis Sweeney  •  Jill M. Johanson  •  Lisa Worswick  •  Michael Trickey  •  Rich Melnick  •  Charlie Wiggins  •  Michael Spearman  •  Laurel Siddoway  •  Lisa L. Sutton  •  Thomas Bjorgen  •  James Verellen  •  John Chun  •

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