Hon. Charnelle M. Bjelkengren

Charnelle Bjelkengren is a Washington State Superior Court judge serving since 2019. She was appointed by the state in April 2019 and has presided over a wide range of civil and criminal matters in Spokane County. Prior to her judicial appointment, Bjelkengren served as an administrative law judge in the Washington State Office of Administrative Hearings from 2013 to 2019 and as an Assistant Attorney General in the Washington State Attorney General’s Office from 2001 to 2003 and again from 2004 to 2013. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from Mankato State University in 1997 and her Juris Doctor from Gonzaga University School of Law in 2000. In September 2022, President Joe Biden nominated her to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. The nomination was returned and renominated in early 2023, and she withdrew her candidacy in January 2024. The American Bar Association rated her as qualified during the nomination process.