All eyes were on John Fairgrieve on Friday as his wife, Jenny, and 10-year-old son, Ian, helped him shrug into his black robe after he was sworn in as a Clark County Superior judge. He slowly buttoned the robe, prompting Judge James Rulli to call out, “We will have to get you one of those zippers next time.” The audience erupted into laughter.
Judge Rulli wasn’t the only person ready with a wisecrack, though.
Kellen Miller, a good friend of Ian’s, noted after the ceremony that his friend’s father does not look like TV personality Judge Judy.
Fairgrieve, formerly Clark County’s chief deputy prosecuting attorney, succeeds Judge Barbara Johnson, who retired at the end of March after serving on the bench since 1987.
He had worked in the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for nearly 20 years.
During a ceremony Friday afternoon, Fairgrieve took the judges’ oath. His in-laws, brother and sister and their families traveled from California to watch him be sworn in.
“I’m pretty proud for him and happy for him that he got this position,” Ian said after the ceremony. “He’s been very excited about it for the past few days.”
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee appointed Fairgrieve to the Superior Court last month.
“I’ve been exceptionally lucky to have appeared in front of Judge Johnson,” Fairgrieve told the audience. “She is the epitome of professionalism. I can’t ask for a better person to emulate.”
Prosecuting Attorney Tony Golik said he will miss having Fairgrieve in his office but added that while he’s in Superior Court, “We will all be served for a very, very long time.”
Golik described Fairgrieve as being “calm, cool and collected in all situations.”
“His judgment is impeccable,” he added.
Fairgrieve was a reservist in the U.S. Marine Corps, where he served a variety of duties and at multiple command levels, until 2013. He retired as a colonel. Fairgrieve was an active duty Marine from 1983 to 1987.
He has a master’s degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of California at Berkeley, and his law degree from the University of Oregon.
Fairgrieve thanked many people during the ceremony but gave special recognition to his wife.
“I wouldn’t be standing here today without her sacrifices,” he said. “She sacrificed to allow me to come to Clark County, to give me an opportunity to apply to the bench.”
Although Fairgrieve was sworn in Friday, he actually began work Monday in family law. He shadowed other judges on the bench.
“It was definitely an eye-opener in terms of the breadth of family law,” Fairgrieve said in an interview. “It’s great to work with a tremendous group of commissioners and judges that really care about this area.”
He said he still has a lot to learn but is looking forward to the opportunities ahead of him.
