Meet
Janelle
“The District Court is the people's court. The work doesn't often make headlines, but it makes a difference.”
JCW - Highlights
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25 years as a trial attorney — former assistant attorney general — 10 years as a pro tempore judge.
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first of her class at Gonzaga—Whitman College—Walla Walla valley Academy
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Sees being a judge as an opportunity to serve the community.
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success is when people in her courtroom feel heard, respected and understood
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knows the law both academically and practically.
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it's not hypothetical, She's Ready
Important work isn't always glamorous. Janelle Carman-Wagner grew up understanding that, and District Court is much the same. It rarely makes headlines, but it quietly handles some of the most important problems people face: neighbors in disputes, families seeking protection, citizens challenging the government, and ordinary people looking for justice. It's the court closest to home.
Janelle has spent 25 years in Walla Walla County courtrooms, and she's running for Part-Time District Court Judge because she believes judges should be what that court needs: approachable, hardworking, practical, and focused on getting the law right.
She's home-grown: Walla Walla Valley Academy, Whitman College, and three years teaching high school at Mac-Hi before a full scholarship to Gonzaga University School of Law, where she found her calling, graduated first in her class, and earned the Dean's Medal. She began as an Assistant Attorney General for Washington State, and in 2005 opened Carman Law Office in downtown Walla Walla, where she still practices. Over 25 years she's handled the full range of cases our courts see: civil, family, administrative, and criminal, for clients from every walk of life. She's even argued and won appeals all the way to the Washington Supreme Court.
Janelle already has experience as a judge Pro Tempore. Since 2015, the Walla Walla County Superior Court has appointed her more than twenty times as a Judge Pro Tempore, and she's appointed to hear cases there through 2026. Also, in 2026 she was appointed Judge Pro Tempore for the Walla Walla District Court. She's already run a courtroom, weighed evidence, applied the law, and made decisions that affect real lives. It's the part of the law she finds most meaningful, and it's why she's ready to serve on day one.
Ask Janelle what kind of judge she wants to be, and she'll turn to the person standing before the bench. Most people who come to District Court arrive without a lawyer, often for the first time, often nervous. A traffic ticket. A small claim. A protection order. To that person, it's the most important thing happening in their life that day, and it deserves the patience, attention, and clarity the law requires.
Every person deserves the same thing: respect, a chance to be heard, and a fair and impartial hearing, whether they're a business collecting a debt, neighbors in a dispute, a prosecutor, or someone accused of a crime. That's the judge Janelle intends to be. She respectfully asks for your vote for Part-Time District Court Judge.
Out of the courtroom and office
Long before she ever stepped into a courtroom, Janelle was in the saddle. She's been riding since she was young, served as a 4-H leader, gave riding lessons, helped with Walla Walla Pony Club, and over the decades she's shown dressage horses throughout the northwest. Anyone who's spent real time around horses knows what they ask of you: patience, steadiness, and a calm hand when things get tense. As it happens, those are good habits in a courtroom too.
These days, the most well-known presence at Carman Law Office isn't always behind a desk. It's Mulligan, the office's blue heeler, who has a way of running the place. Clients come in nervous, and somehow a friendly dog takes the edge off. The staff will tell you he's the best hire she never made. He's a small reminder of something Janelle believes about her work: people do better when they feel a little more at ease, and a little more human.
Horses, a good dog, and a community she's been part of for years. It's all part of who she is, on the bench and off.
This campaign runs on neighbors.
This
campaign
runs on
neighbors.
There are three easy ways to help elect Janelle: put a sign in your yard, lend a few hours, or chip in what you can.