Longtime city prosecutor takes aim at Benton County judge’s seat
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- Michael Rio announced a bid to replace Benton County District Court Judge Terry Tanner.
- Rio has been the city prosecutor for Pasco, Richland and West Richland for more than 20 years.
- Tanner was arrested for DUI in 2018 and again in January 2023 with breath tests of 0.22% or more.
A longtime Tri-City prosecutor is looking to replace a District Court judge.
Michael Rio recently announced his bid to replace Benton County District Court Judge Terry Tanner. It’s not clear at this point whether Tanner will run for reelection. His term is expected to finish this year.
District Court has five judges and two court commissioners. The judges oversee misdemeanor and traffic infractions along with civil cases involving less than $100,000 and small claims cases under $10,000.
They also preside over Municipal Court cases brought by city prosecutors from Kennewick, Richland, West Richland and Prosser.
Rio, along with his law partner, Jessica Foltz, have contracts to handle Municipal Court prosecutions across most of the Tri-Cities. Rio has been the city prosecutor for Pasco, Richland and West Richland for more than 20 years.
He also provided legal advice to Richland and West Richland police departments.
In addition, he’s trained police in 12 agencies across Benton, Franklin, Yakima, Adams and Walla Walla counties. He also has taught criminal law at the law enforcement academic in Pasco since it was founded in 2023.
Rio said he wants to take his experience prosecuting cases and move into a position where he has more control in the outcome of cases.
“I think it would be the next logical step in my career,” he told the Tri-City Herald. “I think I would be a good addition to the local bench here in Benton County.”
Before coming to the Tri-Cities, he worked in Spokane County where he prosecuted felony and property crimes.
Rio said in a release announcing his candidacy that he’s committed to bring his knowledge, experience and integrity to the bench.
Benton County District Court judge
Rio will run for the position held by Tanner, who was caught driving drunk twice in five years.
Tanner was arrested once in 2018 and then a second time in 2023 after two crashes tied to alcohol. No one was hurt in either of the cases.
He pleaded guilty to DUI following a crash into a mail box in 2018.
After winning reelection, Tanner got into another wreck in January 2023 when he hit a concrete block in Kingsgate Way, according to Benton County District Court documents.
He initially denied he was driving and tried to claim the car didn’t belong to him. Four breathlyzer tests registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.22% or more — nearly three times the legal limit of 0.08%.
He later entered into a 5-year defferred prosecution agreement that required him to recieve treatment, use an ignition interlock and submit to tests for alcohol use.
The Commission on Judicial Conduct agreed to suspend Tanner for 30 days without pay, but he was allowed to keep his job.