Gov. Gregoire appoints Superior Court judge for Yakima County

For Immediate Release: January 5, 2012

OLYMPIA � Gov. Chris Gregoire today announced she has appointed Richard Bartheld to the Yakima County Superior Court. Bartheld is currently a senior partner at Bartheld & Schwartz in Yakima, and replaces Judge James Lust who announced his retirement from the bench effective December 31, 2011.

�Richard brings to this position extremely deep ties to the Yakima community, and has earned the respect of his colleagues and of those he will serve,� Gregoire said. �And his legal experience is extensive � handling a wide-range of matters that will strengthen this bench. I welcome him to this new role.�

�It is an honor and privilege to receive this appointment to the Yakima County Superior Court by Governor Gregoire,� said Bartheld. �Yakima County has enjoyed a high degree of judicial excellence. Judge Lust�s retirement leaves a tremendous void to fill. I will work diligently and tirelessly to maintain the high judicial standards of our judicial officers, past and present.�

�Rick will be a wonderful addition to our bench,� said Yakima Superior Court Presiding Judge Ruth Reukauf. �He brings an impeccable reputation and diverse legal background that will enhance our bench. I look forward to working with Rick in this new capacity.�

Bartheld began his legal career in 1980 when he opened his own private practice. For more than 30 years, he has focused on domestic relations matters, handled personal injury cases and led a very active trial practice of general and complex litigation. Bartheld also represented small businesses in a variety of matters including formation, personnel issues, liability claims and collections.

Bartheld has served as a judge pro tem on the family law docket and in the last year, as a judge pro tem on the domestic violence and motion dockets. He has also served as an arbitrator in Superior Court cases. Additionally, Bartheld proposed and helped to implement a volunteer judge pro tem program to reduce case backlogs.
Bartheld earned his bachelor�s degree from the University of Washington before graduating from the Gonzaga School of Law in 1980.