New Adams County District Court judge takes oath

RITZVILLE — Andrea Russell was sworn in July 19 as the new Adams County District Court judge and started hearing cases Monday in Ritzville.

Russell replaces Adalia Hille, who retired June 30. Because the district court judge is an elected position, the seat will be up for election in 2022.

Prior to her appointment to the bench, Russell was a prosecutor with the Adams County Prosecutor’s Office for about four and a half years, she said. She has been an attorney for more than 20 years, working in Alaska and Montana, as well as Washington.

She worked as a magistrate in Alaska, which introduced her to the judge’s role. A magistrate decides cases, but is a lower level than a district court judge, she said.

Russell said she’s excited about her new job.

“It’s going to be an opportunity to serve in a different way,” she said. “I think I can be fair, impartial and see that there are just outcomes.”

She also was a prosecutor in Alaska and worked for the Alaska State Commission for Human Rights. Prior to moving to Alaska, she worked in private practice in family law and as a criminal defense attorney, among other legal tasks.

Her job at the Adams County Prosecutor’s Office included prosecuting misdemeanors and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife violations, juvenile cases and truancies. She wanted that work, she said, and she learned from it.

“It has given me a real flavor for what seems to matter to people in Adams County,” Russell said. “It has given me a flavor for what has affected people in the county.”

She cited the example of people who trespass on private property while fishing or hunting. That matters to the landowner, she said.

One of the lessons she has learned throughout her career, she said, is that different things matter in different locations. What concerns residents of Othello might not matter as much to people in Ritzville, she said.

As the judge, she has to take into account what the community wants to take seriously, and what’s important to residents. And the judge also has to take into consideration the defendant’s circumstances, she said.

Russell said she graduated from law school in 1997, worked in private practice, then decided to move to Alaska when she received a clerkship. Jobs like that usually last a year, she said, and she only planned to stay a year.

“But then I just fell in love with Alaska,” she said.

She met and married her husband Nick Russell there, and they didn’t have plans to leave Alaska, she said. But Nick got a career opportunity in Montana.

“He ultimately convinced me to move to Montana,” she said.

They wanted to be closer to their families, so when Nick had a job opportunity in Ritzville, they took it, she said.

She was one of two candidates for the position, and expressed gratitude to the Adams County Commissioners for having the confidence in her to give her the job, she said.