Spokane County Judge Admonished by CJC Over Handling of Recusal
Spokane County District Court Judge Jennifer Fassbender has been formally admonished by the Washington State Commission on Judicial Conduct for issuing rulings in a case after she had already agreed to step down from it.
According to a Stipulation, Agreement, and Order of Admonishment entered on June 26, 2026, the disciplinary action stems from a July 22, 2025, show cause hearing concerning a probation violation.
During the hearing, after Judge Fassbender issued her ruling on the violation, defense counsel requested that she recuse herself.
The attorney asserted a conflict of interest because Fassbender had previously represented the defendant in 2011.
Fassbender agreed to the recusal. However, upon reviewing the case file, she noted that she had previously issued and then recalled a bench warrant for the defendant’s failure to appear.
According to the agreed facts, Fassbender decided to revoke her prior rulings and reissue the bench warrant before officially stepping down, despite the defendant being physically present in the courtroom.
“...I will grant the motion and unring all of these bells,” Fassbender stated from the bench, according to the disciplinary document. “I’m going to revoke my Order on Show Cause and also revoke my order recalling the warrant.”
Fassbender noted that the conflict of interest should have been raised earlier in the case—specifically on June 25, 2025, the date the bench warrant was initially recalled.
She stated she would “re-establish the warrant that was originally issued on this matter as well.”
Under Washington’s Criminal Rules for Courts of Limited Jurisdiction [CrRLJ 8.9(c)], whenever a judge is disqualified, they must “immediately make an order transferring and removing the case to another judge.”
The Commission noted that taking further action in a case after disqualification raises “serious concerns of partiality and unfairness” and “can give rise to an appearance of partiality warranting discipline.”
In a footnote, the Commission stated it took no position on whether the prior 2011 representation actually required a mandatory recusal under judicial rules.
Nevertheless, the Commission ruled that once Fassbender agreed to step down, she was bound to comply with the rules governing disqualified judges.
In her response to the Commission, Fassbender explained that it was unclear to her how to administratively proceed after the late disclosure of the conflict.
Believing she needed to “get the case back to [its] original position,” she reinstated the warrant and vacated her prior orders.
She assured the Commission that her rulings were not motivated by retaliation or malice.
The Commission ultimately found that Fassbender’s actions violated Canon 1 (Rules 1.1 and 1.2) of the Code of Judicial Conduct and CrRLJ Rule 8.9(c), which requires judges to comply with the law and act in a manner that promotes public confidence in the judiciary’s integrity and impartiality.
In determining the sanction, the Commission weighed several mitigating factors. Fassbender, who represented herself in the proceedings, fully cooperated with the investigation and acknowledged her actions were inappropriate.
She has served as a judicial officer for 17 years without any prior disciplinary issues, presiding as the Airway Heights Municipal Court Judge from 2009 until taking the Spokane County District Court bench in November 2018.
By signing the stipulation, Fassbender waived her appeal rights.
Under the terms of the admonishment, she must complete remedial training on recusal and disqualification laws at her own expense within six months.
She is also required to provide written confirmation within 30 days that she has reread the entire Code of Judicial Conduct, and she must participate in a year-long program meeting regularly with a Commission-approved mentor judge.