Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - February 3, 2004
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Gov. Gary Locke Appoints Ruth Reukauf to Yakima County Superior Court

Gov. Gary Locke today appointed Yakima County District Court Judge Ruth Reukauf to the Yakima County Superior Court.

“I am pleased to add Ruth to a branch of government that is so important to our democratic system,” Locke said. “She has the right combination of expertise, intelligence and experience to be an excellent Superior Court judge.”

Reukauf was elected to the Yakima County District Court in 1998. Prior to her election, she worked as a Yakima County District Court commissioner and as a prosecutor in the Yakima County Prosecutor’s Office, handling felony sex crime cases.

Reukauf is a member of the Commission on Judicial Conduct and the Gender and Justice Commission. She is also the dean of the Washington State Judicial College, and she has been the presiding judge of the Yakima County District Court since 2000.

“I am truly humbled and honored by the trust Governor Locke has placed in me by this appointment,” Reukauf said. “I am grateful that the governor and the local legal community believe that I have been successful and have given me this opportunity to serve in this new capacity.”

Reukauf received her bachelor’s degree from Montana State University and her law degree from the University of Puget Sound. She was admitted to the Washington Bar in 1987.
Reukauf will replace Judge Michael Leavitt, who has served on the bench since 1989.
Leavitt has been appointed to an eight-year term as a federal magistrate judge. Locke commended Leavitt for his service to the Yakima County Superior Court.

“The federal court’s gain is definitely a loss for the Yakima County Superior Court,” Locke said. “Judge Leavitt will be missed.”

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