---
title: "Mark Larranaga | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/mark-larranaga-judge-king-county-maleng-regional-justice-center-mrjc-11656-wa"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Mark Larranaga

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=11656&orgid=194)
- [Official roster](https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_dir/index.cfm?fa=court_dir.persondetail&indid=11656&orgid=194)
- [Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts official judicial roster](https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_dir/index.cfm?fa=court_dir.persondetail&indid=11656&orgid=194)
- [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

- Judge Mark A. Larrañaga is a nonpartisan judge on the King County Superior Court in Washington, appointed in 2023 and re‐elected in 2024, with a career spanning over three decades in criminal defense, capital case work, and appellate law
- Private Practice: Partner at Walsh & Larrañaga (co‐founded 2005)

### Education

- Gonzaga University School of Law — J.D. (1992)
- in Political Science and Philosophy, San Diego State University — B.A. (1989)

### Additional information

- 2005–2023: Worked primarily on capital cases in state and federal courts; handled capital and non‐capital appeals before the Ninth Circuit, Washington and Oregon Supreme Courts, and all three divisions of Washington’s Court of Appeals
- Academic: Taught capital jurisprudence at Seattle University School of Law (2005–2018) and co‐authored An Analysis of the Economic Costs of Seeking the Death Penalty in Washington State
- Licensed in Washington (1993), California (1995), and Oregon (2011)
- 2001–2005: Director of Washington’s first death penalty resource center, providing training and legal assistance for capital cases; authored reports and testified before the Washington State legislature
- 1993–2001: Assistant public defender at The Defenders Association, King County
- handling criminal defense, civil rights, and personal injury cases
- handling misdemeanors to capital aggravated murder cases
- Courtroom: E‐746 (some listings note 4H)
- Since joining the bench, Judge Larrañaga has served on the King County Superior Court’s Executive Committee, Jury Committee, Education Committee, and various workgroups, including the Washington State Bar Association’s Council on Public Defense and the Superior Court Judges Association’s Criminal Rules and Law 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.
