Washington Jennifer Richardson Steps Aside in Wade King Case, Citing Potential Bias

On Saturday, February 28, 2026, the Capital Press reported that Grant County Superior Court Judge Jennifer Richardson recused herself from hearing a lawsuit involving Washington rancher Wade King and the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Richardson’s decision came after concerns arose that her recent employment with the state attorney general’s office could create an appearance of bias.

The recusal was granted despite Richardson’s statement during a hearing on February 27 that she had no prior knowledge of the King case during her time as an assistant attorney general in Wenatchee. Nevertheless, she approved a motion filed by King’s attorneys to step aside, citing her past connections with the attorney general’s office and a desire to maintain public confidence in the court’s impartiality.

Wade King is currently engaged in a multifaceted legal dispute concerning allegations that he damaged 23 landlocked wetlands in Grant and Douglas counties. King argues that he was simply maintaining watering holes for his cattle. He is also suing the DNR to regain grazing rights on 14,700 acres of state-owned land, with the attorney general’s office representing the DNR in the case.

King is also appealing a $267,540 fine imposed by the Pollution Control Hearings Board, which was issued by the state Department of Ecology for the alleged wetland damage. The Department of Ecology has also ordered King to restore the damaged areas, with a consultant estimating the restoration costs at $3.7 million due to the need to transport heavy equipment by helicopter to the remote stockwater ponds.

The Trump administration, through King’s attorney Kenneth Chadwick, has voiced support for King. Agriculture Secretary Booke Rollins has also criticized the Ecology and DNR, arguing that the state agencies are unfairly targeting King for common ranching practices in the arid West.