---
title: "Cailen L. Cecil | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/cailen-l-cecil-commissioner-lewis-county-superior-court-11201-wa"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-07-26"
---

# Cailen L. Cecil

Lewis County - Superior Court · Commissioner

## Profile

- Court: Lewis County - Superior Court
- State: Washington
- Role: Commissioner
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-07-26

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### photography recording

Scope: statewide

Washington GR 16 allows video recording, audio recording, and still photography by the news media in courtrooms only after the judge has expressly granted permission.

Evidence excerpt: Video and audio recording and still photography by the news media are allowed in the courtroom during and between sessions, provided (1) that permission shall have first been expressly granted by the judge

[Washington GR 16, Courtroom Photography and Recording by the News Media](https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_rules/pdf/GR/GA_GR_16_00_00.pdf)
Source checked: 2026-07-26

### limitations on recording

Scope: statewide

If a Washington judge limits courtroom photography or recording, GR 16 requires particularized findings on the record and treats open access as presumed.

Evidence excerpt: Open access is presumed; limitations on access must be supported by reasons found by the judge to be sufficiently compelling to outweigh that presumption

[Washington GR 16, Courtroom Photography and Recording by the News Media](https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_rules/pdf/GR/GA_GR_16_00_00.pdf)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_dir/index.cfm?fa=court_dir.persondetail&indid=11201&orgid=483)
- [Official roster](https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_dir/index.cfm?fa=court_dir.persondetail&indid=11201&orgid=483)
- [Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts official judicial roster](https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_dir/index.cfm?fa=court_dir.persondetail&indid=11201&orgid=483)
- [Washington GR 16, Courtroom Photography and Recording by the News Media](https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_rules/pdf/GR/GA_GR_16_00_00.pdf)

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## Biography

### Professional career

- Appointed in December 2024 and formally taking the bench in January 2025, Cecil serves as Lewis County Superior Court’s full‐time Constitutional Court Commissioner
- She returned to Washington in 2004 as a private practitioner in Yelm, then became a Lewis County deputy prosecutor in 2008 and Thurston County prosecutor in 2010, specializing in domestic violence cases
- This judicial officer is appointed by the three elected Lewis County Superior Court judges and has authority, delegated by those judges, to decide all matters submitted to the Superior Court for decision without a jury, whether in court or in chambers

### Education

- Texas Tech School of Law — J.D. (2002)

### Additional information

- Cecil was born and raised in Yelm, Washington, graduating Yelm High School in 1994.
- Her legal career began in Texas representing domestic violence survivors at the Legal Aid Society of Lubbock.
- The newly appointed Constitutional Court Commissioner for Lewis County Superior Court, a judicial officer authorized to decide certain cases without a jury, including protection orders, family law matters, and juvenile non‐offender cases.



## Published courtroom rules

### Shared court rules

- [Washington GR 16, Courtroom Photography and Recording by the News Media](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-7133c6bd26c80972b86e0d31) — Scope is limited to the court class in the source claim.  Shared court context only; case-type restrictions, exceptions, later amendments and case orders apply. This is not a personal preference or a complete rules inventory. [Official source](https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_rules/pdf/GR/GA_GR_16_00_00.pdf). Collected 2026-07-26.