Two new magistrate judges to join First Judicial District in July

Kootenai County’s court calendar is getting two new magistrate judges in July, a change that could matter most to residents waiting for family-law hearings, civil disputes and the first stages of felony cases. Matthew Rakes and Christopher D. Schwartz are both set to join the First Judicial District on July 6, with investitures scheduled for July 1 and July 10, respectively.

The openings came after two vacancies hit the bench. Judge James Combo retired, and Judge Robert Caldwell died on April 14 at age 59 after 17 years as a magistrate judge chambered in Coeur d’Alene. The Idaho Supreme Court said Caldwell had been set to retire from active service at the end of his term in January 2027, making his death an unexpected loss for a court that already handles a heavy stream of local cases.

Rakes brings a long North Idaho connection to the role. He has lived in the Coeur d’Alene area for more than 30 years, earned a psychology degree from the University of Idaho and later graduated from Gonzaga University School of Law. He opened his own law office in Spokane Valley in 2014, then moved his practice to Idaho in 2016, focusing on family law and mediation after earlier work that also included landlord-tenant and estate-planning matters.

Schwartz, identified by the county as Christopher D. Schwartz, is a lifelong Kootenai County resident who earned degrees in political science and law from the University of Idaho. He spent years as a public defender in Kootenai County before starting his own practice in 2019. That background gives the district another judge who has spent years in the local courtroom rather than arriving from outside the region.

The timing matters because Idaho magistrate judges handle much of the day-to-day work residents actually feel, including family law, juvenile and civil matters, along with the early hearings in felony cases before some cases move on. In a district that includes Kootenai County and is part of Idaho’s seven-district unified court system, the addition of two judges should give the local bench more room to keep cases moving.

The appointments also reflect Idaho’s merit-based magistrate selection process, which uses the First Judicial District Magistrates Commission rather than elections. For Kootenai County, the practical question this summer is simple: whether two new judges can mean faster hearing dates, lighter calendars and less waiting for families, landlords, tenants and criminal defendants who depend on the courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.