Hon. Alexander C. Ekstrom is a judge for the Benton-Franklin County Superior Court in Washington. He was appointed to the bench by Governor Jay Inslee in 2014. He filled the vacancy created by the appointment of the Hon. Salvador Mendoza, Jr. to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.
Ekstrom received a B.A. from the University of Washington in 1993. While attending university, he worked as a crew member on a fishing boat during the summer. Ekstrom then completed a J.D. at the University of Washington School of Law in 1997.
He began his legal career in private practice before becoming a deputy prosecuting attorney with the Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. In 2004, he joined the Benton County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in the same capacity. During his tenure there, Ekstrom served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney and remained with the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office until 2008.
It was at that time, he joined the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington, where he served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney until his appointment to the Superior Court.
In addition to his work as a prosecutor, Ekstrom taught as an adjunct professor at Washington State University Tri-Cities.
He was born in Seattle and later moved to Kennewick when he was five years old. In 1983, his father moved the family from the Tri-Cities to the San Juan Islands after taking a job in a small marine technology firm. Ekstrom and his wife, Aimee, eventually returned to the Tri-Cities after he graduated from law school. Since assuming the bench, they have resided in Richland, where they were raising their three children.