Tri-Cities court gets its first Latina judge

A lawyer who has defended some of the more high-profile criminal cases in the Tri-Cities has been named the next Benton-Franklin Superior Court judge.

Norma Rodriguez will replace Judge Cameron Mitchell, who is retiring March 11.

She is the first Latina Superior Court judge for the two counties, and the fifth woman, according to the “History of the Judicial District” on the court’s website.

The announcement was made Wednesday by Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee.

The appointment was left to him since Mitchell’s departure comes just over one year into a four-year term.

“Norma is an immensely talented and experienced attorney,” Inslee said in a news release. “She is well-known in the Tri-Cities legal community, and she is so highly regarded by her peers, so well respected, that she will have what it takes to command her courtroom from day one.”

Rodriguez has been practicing law in Washington since January 1993, after earning her bachelor’s degree from Gonzaga University and her law degree from Gonzaga Law School in Spokane.

In 2015, she founded and has served as managing partner at Rodriguez Interiano Hanson & Rodgers. The Kennewick law firm specializes in criminal defense, personal injury, medical malpractice, civil liberties and state Department of Labor & Industries disputes.

Rodriguez has been a committee member for the Tri-Cities Youth and Justice Forum, is past chair of the Washington State Bar Association Litigation Section, and was a Benton-Franklin Legal Aid board member from 2006 to 2013. She also is a board member of Tri-Cities Prep and the area’s Circle of Hope Foundation.

Seven applicants

This is Inslee’s second appointment for the bicounty court in the last eight months.

Jacqueline Stam was a court commissioner when she was named to replace Judge Carrie Runge, who retired in July after 17 years.

Mitchell then announced in January that he was ready to step down after nearly 18 years on the bench.

Mitchell, who is Black, was the local judicial system’s first minority judge.

Benton-Franklin Superior Court has seven judges who handle civil and felony criminal cases, along with divorce, paternity and custody issues in the two counties. They make about $200,000 a year.

Rodriguez was one of seven Tri-Cities lawyers to apply for the vacancy. The others were: Shelley Ajax; Douglas McKinley; Diana Ruff; Talesha Sams; Jeffrey Sperline; and Alan Tindell.

Court administration will work with Rodriguez to schedule a swearing-in ceremony.