Gov. Inslee appoints Thurston County Judge Erik Price to state Court of Appeals

Gov. Jay Inslee has appointed Thurston County Superior Court Judge Erik Price to the state Court of Appeals, Division Two.

Price will replace Judge Lisa L. Sutton, who will retire at the end of September, according to a news release from the governor’s office.

Price was first elected to his Thurston County Superior Court judgeship in 2012 and has served as the court’s presiding judge since January 2020. During his tenure, Price served as the chief criminal judge as well as the adult drug and DUI court judge for three years, according to the release.

Prior to his election to the bench, Price worked on civil litigation, administrative law and regulatory law as a partner at Lane Powell PC and the managing partner of the Olympia office, the news release says. He has served as a pro tem judge on a panel at Division Two and as the chair of the Thurston County Pretrial Justice Project Policy Team.

In 2020, Price received a community leadership award for his judicial and community leadership during the pandemic. He has been recognized for outstanding acts of heroism and service to the National Ski Patrol and, since 1998, has served as a member of the Olympia Kiwanis Club.

“I’m confident that Judge Price will be a fine addition to the Division Two Court of Appeals,” Inslee said in the news release. “He brings deep knowledge of trial court proceedings as well as diverse professional and personal experiences that will help him navigate the new challenges of an appellate judge.”

Price earned both his bachelor’s degree and law degree from the University of Washington.

The state has three divisions of the Court of Appeals. Division Two is based in Tacoma, and deals with cases from Southwest Washington and the Olympic Peninsula.

This story was originally published September 13, 2021 at 12:06 PM.