Judge steps aside in suit by Washington rancher

Published 6:00 am Saturday, February 28, 2026

A Grant County, Wash., judge recused herself from hearing allegations against rancher Wade King, conceding her recent employment by the state attorney general’s office could give the appearance of bias.

Superior Court Judge Jennifer Richardson said at a hearing Feb. 27 that she had never even heard of the King case while an assistant attorney general in Wenatchee.

Nevertheless, she granted a motion filed by King’s attorneys to step aside in the high-profile case. She agreed her past ties with the attorney general could look unfair. “So out of an abundance of caution and to preserve public confidence, I will grant the motion,” she said.

King is waging a multifront legal battle against allegations he damaged 23 landlocked wetlands in arid Grant and Douglas counties. King says he was maintaining watering holes for cattle.

King is suing the state Department of Natural Resources to regain the right to graze on 14,700 acres of state-owned land. The attorney general’s office is defending DNR.

Richardson was appointed to the bench in January by Gov. Bob Ferguson, a former attorney general.

The Trump administration has voiced support for King, the rancher’s attorney, Kenneth Chadwick, said. The administration is “a complete foe of the governor and the current attorney general (Nick Brown),” he said.

“The King Ranch is not alleging Judge Richardson is incapable of being impartial or would be unfair,” Chadwick said. “Judge Richardson is simply too closely related to the attorneys in this matter.”

Assistant Attorney General April Hare said recusal would be a bad precedent. If ex-assistant AGs stepped aside in cases involving state agencies, courts, especially in rural counties, would have a hard time handling cases, she said.

King is also appealing a $267,540 fine to the Pollution Control Hearings Board issued by the state Department of Ecology for allegedly damaging wetlands.

Ecology also ordered him to repair the damage. A consultant hired by King estimates restoration would cost $3.7 million, primarily because heavy equipment would have to be flown in by helicopter to the remote stockwater ponds.

Agriculture Secretary Booke Rollins has criticized Ecology and DNR, saying the state agencies are punishing King for a common ranching practice in the arid West.