---
title: "Johanna Bender | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/johanna-bender-judge-king-county-juvenile-court-11649-wa"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Johanna Bender

King County - Superior Court · Judge

## Profile

- Court: King 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=11649&orgid=193)
- [Official roster](https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_dir/index.cfm?fa=court_dir.persondetail&indid=11649&orgid=193)
- [Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts official judicial roster](https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_dir/index.cfm?fa=court_dir.persondetail&indid=11649&orgid=193)
- [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/johanna-bender-judge-king-county-juvenile-court-11649-wa",
      "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/johanna-bender-judge-king-county-juvenile-court-11649-wa",
      "name": "Johanna Bender | KnowJudges",
      "description": "Johanna Bender, King County - Superior Court. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.",
      "dateModified": "2026-10-07",
      "isPartOf": {
        "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website"
      },
      "mainEntity": {
        "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/johanna-bender-judge-king-county-juvenile-court-11649-wa#judge"
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Person",
      "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/johanna-bender-judge-king-county-juvenile-court-11649-wa#judge",
      "name": "Johanna Bender",
      "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/johanna-bender-judge-king-county-juvenile-court-11649-wa",
      "jobTitle": "Judge",
      "worksFor": {
        "@type": "GovernmentOrganization",
        "name": "King County - Superior Court"
      },
      "sameAs": [
        "https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_dir/index.cfm?fa=court_dir.persondetail&indid=11649&orgid=193"
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
      "itemListElement": [
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 1,
          "name": "KnowJudges",
          "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 2,
          "name": "Washington",
          "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/washington"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 3,
          "name": "Johanna Bender",
          "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/johanna-bender-judge-king-county-juvenile-court-11649-wa"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```

## Biography

### Professional career

- Then appointed to the King County Superior Court by Governor Jay Inslee, joining the bench on December 1, 2015, to replace Judge Carol Schapira
- Pro Tem Judge across Western Washington (2002–2006, she was an associate attorney at Gordon, Murray, Tilden LLP, and from 2006 until her judicial appointment)
- Judge Bender has held the role of Chief Judge at the Maleng Regional Justice Center and as Assistant Chief Criminal Judge for the court
- Currently assigned to hear child welfare proceedings and continues to contribute to initiatives that enhance access to justice and integrate behavioral health services within the legal system
- Active in promoting diversity and access to justice, serving on the Advisory Board for the Judicial Institute, as a Trustee of the Legal Foundation of Washington, and on the Minority and Justice Commission

### Education

- Undergraduate degree from Brown University in 1991 and her J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law in 1996.

### Additional information

- She currently serves in Department 28, with her term ending on January 9, 2029.
- She co-chaired the County Mental Illness and Drug Dependency Oversight Committee and the Court’s Involuntary Treatment Act Oversight Committee, and led the 2021-2022
- Appointed to the King County District Court West Division in May 2012, succeeding Barbara Linde, and was elected to the court in 2012 and 2014.
- She then held the role of a staff attorney at The Defender Association from 1996 to 2000, followed by a clerkship for U.S. District Court Judge Marsha J. Pechman from 2000 to 2002.
- Early in her career, she worked as a domestic violence advocate at the Domestic Abuse Women’s Network from 1992 to 1993.
- She has presided over the Regional Mental Health Court, Regional Veterans Court, and the Superior Court Involuntary Treatment Act calendar.
- Recovery Pilot Project, which applied therapeutic treatment court strategies for patients released from involuntary hospitalization.
- She has also taught statewide on behavioral health law and testified on mental health policy in Olympia.
- She has volunteered extensively with Legal Voice, a civil legal aid organization advancing women’s legal rights.



## 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.
