The White House has nominated Wenatchee lawyer Stanley Bastian to become Eastern Washington's newest federal judge.

If approved by the Senate, he would replace Judge Edward Shea on the bench in Richland.

Bastian is a 1983 University of Washington Law School graduate who has served as an assistant city attorney in Seattle and as a state Appeals Court law clerk. He joined a Wenatchee firm in 1988.

The Spokesman-Review reports in the 1990s Bastian was hired by Douglas County to defend sheriff's investigators and prosecutors who were sued for their roles in the discredited Wenatchee sex ring case.

The Tri-City Herald reports Shea was the first federal judge to be based full-time in the Tri-Cities and went on senior status in June 2012, with a reduced workload.