Superior Court
Judges and Commissioner's Information |
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| Elected Judges Pro Tempore AR 6 | |
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Heather Shand Department 1 Judge Heather Shand ran unopposed to serve as a Skagit County Superior Court Judge beginning in January 2025. She previously served as Superior Court Commissioner since September 2019. Her experience includes time as a Pro-Tem Judge for District Court and a Pro-Tem Commissioner for Superior Court. Prior to her judicial career, Judge Shand operated her own law firm, specializing in family law, adoptions, guardianships, probates, civil litigation, business law, taxation, and estate planning. Judge Shand holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a Minor in Society and Justice from the University of Washington (1998), a Juris Doctor degree from Gonzaga University School of Law (2000), and a Master of Laws in Taxation from the University of Washington (2004). |
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Laura M. Riquelme, Judge Department 2 Judge Riquelme was appointed to the Skagit County Superior Court in March, 2016 and in July, 2017 and elected November 2018. Prior to her judicial service, she was a senior deputy public defender with the Skagit County Public Defender. She began her legal career as a deputy prosecuting attorney for the Skagit County Prosecuting Attorney. Judge Riquelme is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Syracuse University’s College of Law. |
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Elizabeth Y. Neidzwski, Judge Department 3 Elizabeth Yost Neidzwski was elected to serve as a Skagit County Superior Court Judge in November, 2020. She was previously a senior deputy public defender with the Skagit County Public Defender’s Office and a public defender with both the King County Department of Public Defense and the Orange County Public Defender’s Office. She also previously worked in private practice at a civil litigation law firm. Elizabeth is a graduate of Anacortes High School, Western Washington University, and Washington and Lee University School of Law. |
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Thomas L. Verge, Judge Department 4 Judge Thomas L. Verge was elected to Skagit County Superior Court in January 2021. Previously he served 5 years as a Skagit County District Court Judge, beginning in January 2016. During his 30-plus year legal career, Judge Verge also served as a full-time Superior Court Commissioner in Whatcom County for 11 years and served 4 years as the Elected Prosecutor in Skagit County. In addition, for the first 10 years of his career, he was a partner in a private law firm in Skagit County that focused on criminal defense, civil law and family law. Judge Verge earned his Bachelor of Arts from Western Washington University and his Juris Doctorate from University of Puget Sound School of Law. He was admitted to the bar in 1988. |
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Mary Crandall Commissioner Commissioner Mary Crandall was appointed as Superior Court Commissioner in November, 2021. She previously served as Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for the Skagit County Prosecutor’s Office and has served as Judge Pro Tem for San Juan County District Court. |