GC Judge Tyson Hill named to state appellate court

OLYMPIA – Grant County Superior Court Judge Tyson Hill has been appointed to the state’s Division III Court of Appeals, Gov. Bob Ferguson announced today (Wednesday, Nov. 19).

Hill will join the Spokane-based appellate bench effective Jan. 1, succeeding retiring Judge George Fearing.

Hill, 46, has served both as a superior and district court judge in Grant County since 2013, and previously as a county deputy prosecutor beginning in 2009.

“Judge Hill will be an excellent addition to Division III of the Court of Appeals,” Ferguson said in a press statement. “His commitment to our justice system combined with his broad legal experience will serve Washingtonians well.”

“I am grateful to the Governor and to all those who have supported me over the years,” Hill said. “Serving as a judge can be challenging, but I am passionate about our justice system.”

Using a sports analogy, Hill added, “I look forward to transitioning from a referee on the field to a replay official in the booth.”

In Washington state, appellate judges currently earn an annual salary of $249,417 while superior court judges receive $237,460, half of which is paid by the county in which they preside.

During his tenure in Grant County, Hill has prosecuted and presided over hundreds of civil and criminal cases each year. Described by the governor’s office as “a career public servant with more than two decades of legal experience,” Hill co-founded Grant County’s first therapeutic drug court and has served as a pro tem judge with the Division III appellate court.

Earlier in his career, he clerked for Washington State Supreme Court Justice James M. Johnson. Hill also worked as a consultant to the U.S. - China Economic & Security Review Commission.

Outside the courtroom, the governor’s office said Hill served on the Washington State Association of Prosecuting Attorneys’ Appellate Committee, the District and Municipal Judges Association board of governors, and the Superior Court Judges Association’s Ethics and Rural Courts committees.

Hill also enjoys speaking in the community on issues related to the justice system. He is a 2004 graduate of Brigham Young University and earned his law degree at the University of Washington.

Hill’s appointment to the appellate bench is the first for Ferguson, who took office as governor in January. Hill was initially named to fill a vacancy on the Grant County Superior Court bench in April 2021 by then-Gov. Jay Inslee, then elected in 2024 to a full four-year term that began this January.

With Hill’s pending departure, Ferguson will appoint his successor to Grant County’s three-member superior court which includes Judges Melissa Chlarson and Anna Gigliotti. The governor’s office is “working to fill the upcoming vacancy in Grant County,” said Brionna Aho, Ferguson’s communications director, in an email reply Wednesday to GCJ.news.

Superior court judges have responsibility for felony criminal cases, civil disputes over $50,000, real estate matters, domestic relations, juvenile and probate courts, adoptions and child dependencies, and district court appeals.