Marsha J. Pechman | |
Office: | Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington |
Term Start: | February 6, 2016 |
Office1: | Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington |
Term Start1: | September 1, 2011 |
Term End1: | February 6, 2016 |
Predecessor1: | Robert S. Lasnik |
Successor1: | Ricardo S. Martinez |
Office2: | Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington |
Term Start2: | September 9, 1999 |
Term End2: | February 6, 2016 |
Appointer2: | Bill Clinton |
Predecessor2: | William Lee Dwyer |
Successor2: | Tana Lin |
Birth Date: | 6 February 1951 |
Birth Place: | Salem, Oregon, U.S. |
Education: | Cornell University (BA) Boston University (JD) |
Marsha J. Pechman (born February 6, 1951)[1] is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington.
Born in Salem, Oregon, Pechman received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University in 1973 and a Juris Doctor from Boston University School of Law in 1976. She was a legal intern, King County Prosecutor's Office in 1976. She was a deputy prosecutor, King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office from 1976 to 1979. She was an instructor/staff attorney of University of Washington School of Law from 1979 to 1981. She was in private practice in Seattle from 1981 to 1988. She was an adjunct professor at University of Puget Sound from 1983 to 1987. She was a judge on the King County Superior Court from 1988 to 1999.
On March 24, 1999, Pechman was nominated by President Bill Clinton to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington vacated by William Lee Dwyer. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 8, 1999, and received her commission on September 9, 1999. On September 1, 2011, she became Chief Judge, succeeding Judge Robert S. Lasnik. She assumed senior status on February 6, 2016.
Pechman is most well known for presiding over the 2008 trial between the City of Seattle and the owners of the Seattle SuperSonics.
Pechman sat on the Karnoski v. Trump case for over three years without issuing a decision. Joe Biden eventually repealed the Trump trans soldier ban.
Pechman has two daughters.