--- title: "Karen Watson | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/karen-watson-commissioner-pierce-county-superior-court-8898-wa" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-07-26" --- # Karen Watson Pierce County - Superior Court · Commissioner ## Profile - Court: Pierce 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=8898&orgid=558) - [Official roster](https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_dir/index.cfm?fa=court_dir.persondetail&indid=8898&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=8898&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/karen-watson-commissioner-pierce-county-superior-court-8898-wa", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/karen-watson-commissioner-pierce-county-superior-court-8898-wa", "name": "Karen Watson | KnowJudges", "description": "Karen Watson, Pierce County - Superior Court. 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Watson is a full-time commissioner of the Pierce County Superior Court in Washington, appointed in January 2021, with a background as a deputy prosecuting attorney and experienced family and criminal law attorney. - In summary: Judge Karen A. Watson is an experienced Washington state attorney and prosecutor now serving as a Pierce County Superior Court commissioner - She also held the role of deputy prosecuting attorney for Thurston County ### Education - Seattle University School of Law — J.D. (1994) ### Additional information - Appointed by the Pierce County Superior Court judges in 2021 to fill the vacancy created by the election of Hon. Diana Kiesel. - Before her judicial appointment, Watson spent over 20 years as a deputy prosecuting attorney with the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office - handling cases in District and Superior Courts, arguing before the Court of Appeals and Washington State Supreme Court, and leading the Family Support Division. - handling a range of civil, juvenile, and criminal cases, with a strong background in family law and public prosecution. - Karen A. Watson serves as one of ten full-time court commissioners in Pierce County, presiding over matters in divisions such as Civil, Juvenile, Civil Mental Health, Adoptions, and Criminal. - After law school, she practiced in private legal services (estate planning, family law, criminal defense) at Betzendorfer & Granoski in Tacoma, then joined the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. ## 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.