Clark County Superior Court has a new presiding judge, following the retirement of Barbara Johnson at the end of March.
Judge James Rulli, who has seniority on the Superior Court bench, assumed the role April 1, Superior Court Administrator Jeff Amram said.
The presiding judge supervises the judicial business of the court. Each term runs for two years and then the judge is subject to re-election. Rulli will be up for re-election at the end of this year.
Amram said all of the judges vote on who will become presiding judge, in accordance with General Rule 29, which outlines the rules for presiding judges in Superior Court.
Rulli has worked at the courthouse since 1996.
In addition to taking on the new role, Rulli moved his office from the Family Law Annex to Department 7 on the third floor of the courthouse. He will continue to handle family law cases from his new office.
Johnson, who was the senior judge on the Clark County bench, officially retired March 31. Amram said it’s possible she could return to court to handle specific cases, but said it’s unlikely.
John Fairgrieve, who formerly served as the chief deputy prosecuting attorney, was appointed by Gov. Jay Inslee to replace Johnson. He assumed the role of Superior Court judge on Monday and will have a swearing-in ceremony Friday.
Jessica Prokop: 360-735-4551; jessica.prokop@columbian.com; twitter.com/JProkop16
