Samuel Swanberg Removed

Samuel Swanberg, a Tri-Cities, Washington judge, resigned from the bench on May 17, 2024 — three days before the state Commission on Judicial Conduct was set to hold a disciplinary hearing on allegations that he broke the law, acted in ways that harmed public trust in judges, and used his office to advance personal interests. The allegations stemmed from a pattern of legal trouble beginning in 2021, including an anti-harassment order and accusations of domestic violence from his ex-wife, who said she suffered mental and physical abuse over their 33-year marriage; a criminal investigation led to a domestic violence assault charge, of which a jury acquitted Swanberg in 2022. Despite that criminal acquittal, the Commission's judicial conduct case proceeded separately — since judicial ethics standards are independent of criminal guilt — and Swanberg resigned rather than face the hearing, saying through his lawyer that he wanted to avoid what would become "political grandstanding."