Benton-Franklin Superior Court Judge Cameron Mitchell is resigning from the bench, effective March 11 after 18 years in office.
Gov. Jay Inslee’s office announced the resignation on Jan. 3.
Mitchell, the only Black member of the Benton-Franklin bench, was first appointed in 2004 and won his current term in 2020.
A Richland High School graduate, Mitchell played varsity football at Washington State University and was a member of the 1981 Holiday Bowl team. After earning a bachelor’s in history, he pursued law at Willamette Law School in Oregon. He served as an associated attorney general until being appointed a hearings examiner for the state Department of Labor and Industries.
He received the 2012 Martin Luther King Jr. Spirit Award from Columbia Basin College in 2012.
The governor will appoint a successor from the membership of the Washington State Bar Association. The application deadline is Jan. 18.