--- title: "Diana L. Kiesel | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/diana-l-kiesel-judge-pierce-county-superior-court-1118-wa" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-07-26" --- # Diana L. Kiesel Pierce County - Superior Court · Judge ## Profile - Court: Pierce County - Superior Court - State: Washington - Role: Judge - 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=1118&orgid=558) - [Official roster](https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_dir/index.cfm?fa=court_dir.persondetail&indid=1118&orgid=558) - [Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts official judicial roster](https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_dir/index.cfm?fa=court_dir.persondetail&indid=1118&orgid=558) - [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) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/diana-l-kiesel-judge-pierce-county-superior-court-1118-wa", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/diana-l-kiesel-judge-pierce-county-superior-court-1118-wa", "name": "Diana L. 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Kiesel", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/diana-l-kiesel-judge-pierce-county-superior-court-1118-wa" } ] } ] } ``` ## Biography ### Professional career - Elected Judge: Pierce County Superior Court Department 7, 2020–present - The elected Judge for Pierce County Superior Court Department 7 in Washington, serving since 2020, with a career spanning over 14 years on the bench and decades in private legal practice - Recent roles: Presiding Family Court Judge (2023–2024), Juvenile Court, Dependency Judge, and Early Childhood Court (2024–2025). - Superior Court Commissioner: 2008–2020 - Private practice attorney (1984–2008) focusing on family law, domestic violence, and elder law. ### Education - University of Puget Sound School of Law (now Seattle University School of Law) — J.D. (1984) - University of Puget Sound — B.A. (1981) ### Additional information - Committee work: Chair of the Washington State Certified Professional Guardianship and Conservatorship (CPGC) Board (2021–2023), member of the Washington Supreme Court Disability Justice Task Force. - Judge Kiesel has received multiple awards, including the Service to the Legal Profession Community Service Award (2017) and Jurist of the Year honors from the Family Law Section of the Washington State Bar Association. - overseeing juvenile, criminal, family, probate, guardianship, and landlord–tenant cases. - Judge Kiesel presides over a broad range of cases, including civil, criminal, family, probate, guardianship, landlord–tenant, juvenile, and mental health law matters. - Began career as a legal secretary to attorneys who subsequently became judges. - Also the Chairperson of the Pierce County Superior Court Civil Protection Order Committee and serves on the Superior Court Judges’ Association Guardianship and Probate Committee. ## 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.