--- title: "Jennifer A. Forbes | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jennifer-a-forbes-judge-kitsap-county-superior-court-579-wa" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Jennifer A. Forbes Kitsap County - Superior Court · Judge ## Profile - Court: Kitsap 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=579&orgid=447) - [Official roster](https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_dir/index.cfm?fa=court_dir.persondetail&indid=579&orgid=447) - [Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts official judicial roster](https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_dir/index.cfm?fa=court_dir.persondetail&indid=579&orgid=447) - [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/jennifer-a-forbes-judge-kitsap-county-superior-court-579-wa", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jennifer-a-forbes-judge-kitsap-county-superior-court-579-wa", "name": "Jennifer A. 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Forbes", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jennifer-a-forbes-judge-kitsap-county-superior-court-579-wa" } ] } ] } ``` ## Biography ### Professional career - Previous roles: Assistant Presiding Judge (2022) Family Dependency Drug Court Judge (2016–2018) Domestic Relations Presiding Judge (2015) Judge Pro Tem, Washington State Court of Appeals, Division II (2013) Court Commissioner, Bremerton Municipal Court (2012) - The Presiding Judge for Department 7 of the Kitsap County Superior Court in Washington, elected in 2012, with a background in criminal, civil, land use, environmental, and municipal law ### Education - cum laude, Seattle University School of Law — J.D. (1996) - in Politics, Whitman College — B.A. (1993) ### Additional information - Recipient of the YMCA’s Women of Achievement Award (2014) and American Red Cross awards. - Elected: November 6, 2012, to fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Hon. M. Karlynn Haberly. - Email: jforbes@ - For case information, dockets, or to contact the court: Visit the Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Forbes page or the Washington State Courts directory. - Active in the Poulsbo Rotary, Kitsap County Shoreline Master Program Task Force, Westsound Red Cross Leadership Council, and Commission on Children and Youth. - For certain calendars, Judge Forbes accepts electronic bench copies via the Cognito form, with specific file format requirements (PDF for most documents, Word for proposed orders). - Includes leadership roles in the Superior Court Judges Association (president), Kitsap County Bar Association (president), Washington State Unrepresented Litigant Ad Hoc Workgroup, and multiple state bar associations. ## 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.