Three newly elected Pierce County Superior Court judges are on the job this week after officially taking office last Friday. Stan Rumbaugh, Jack Nevin and Jerry Costello, who were the choices of voters in last year's election, took their oaths during a swearing-in ceremony in one of the Superior Court courtrrooms at the County-City Building in Tacoma. A reception follow in the court's jury assembly room. Superior Court judges preside over criminal and civil cases, They also oversee a family court system. In the primary election last August, Rumbaugh defeated Helen Whitener, Costello beat Bev Grant, and Nevin ran unopposed. All of the countywide judicial races were decided in the primary if winning candidates received a majority of the votes cast in their races. Here's a rundown on the new judges: " Rumbaugh received his law degree from the University of Puget Sound in 1978. He has tried hundreds of cases in private practice, has been on the Board of Governors for the Washington State Trial Lawyers Association for nine years, and has been named Washington State Law and Politics magazine's "Super LawyerGÇ¥ four years. His civic involvement includes service on the Tacoma Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, Bates Technical College Board of Trustees, Centro Latino Board of Directors, Planned Parenthood of Western Washington Board of Directors, governor's task force on longterm disability, the city of Tacoma's Human Services Strategic Planning Group, the World Trade Council, and moderator for the PBS television program "South Sound View.GÇ¥ " Nevin received his law degree from Gonzaga University. He was appointed to Pierce County District Court in 1997. He was the presiding judge of the United Nations Detention Review Commission for Kosovo in 2001 and was on active and reserve duty with the Judge Advocate General's Corps Army from 1978 to 2009. Nevin also served as chief judge of the Army's Court of Criminal Appeals and was the commanding general of the Army Reserve Legal Command. His civic involvement includes service on the state Board of Judicial Administration, faculty at the Washington State Judicial College, adjunct professor for trial advocacy at Seattle University School of Law, the Tacoma Narrows Rotary, Board of Directors for the Family Renewal Shelter, Board of Advisors for Gonzaga University School of Law, and Paint Tacoma Beautiful. " Costello was born and raised in Illinois. He is a 1983 graduate of California Western School of Law and began his career in the Navy JAG Corps, which took him to Seattle and Guam.-á Following his military service, Costello did civil litigation work with the law firm of Bogle and Gates in Seattle.-á From 1989 until becoming a judge, he was a Pierce County deputy prosecutor. His assignments included chief criminal deputy, chief administrative deputy, lead attorney for homicide cases and special assistant to the U.S. attorney. Costello and his wife, Kris Costello, have two daughters.-á Costello is an avid fly fisherman.
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