--- title: "Ron Costeck | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/ron-costeck-judge-island-county-district-court-11435-wa" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-07-26" --- # Ron Costeck Island County - District Court · Judge ## Profile - Court: Island County - District 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=11435&orgid=434) - [Official roster](https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_dir/index.cfm?fa=court_dir.persondetail&indid=11435&orgid=434) - [Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts official judicial roster](https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_dir/index.cfm?fa=court_dir.persondetail&indid=11435&orgid=434) - [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/ron-costeck-judge-island-county-district-court-11435-wa", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/ron-costeck-judge-island-county-district-court-11435-wa", "name": "Ron Costeck | KnowJudges", "description": "Ron Costeck, Island County - District Court. 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Costeck is the Presiding Judge of Island County’s District & Municipal Court, appointed in June 2024 after a unanimous selection by Island County Commissioners. - Academic work: Adjunct professor at Temple University (PA) and at several Washington state colleges ### Education - J.D. (University of Memphis, 1995). - B.A. in Finance & Economics (McMaster University, 1991) ### Additional information - Legal career start: 1998. - Prosecution: Deputy prosecuting attorney for Grays Harbor and Skagit counties, and for the City of Bellingham. - overseeing criminal and civil cases in the county’s courts. - Community impact: recognizing the high volume of cases in District Court (three times that of Superior Court) and addressing their effect on residents. - Before this, he had been a District & Municipal Court commissioner for six years, holding the same authority as a judge in Oak Harbor, Langley, Coupeville, and Island County. - Costeck views District Court as a community court focused on quality‐of‐life issues — from protection orders and infractions to civil disputes with contractors, landlords, and neighbors. - Judge Costeck and his family reside on Whidbey Island, are active in St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church in Freeland, WA, and are involved in local Rotary and court committees. ## 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.