She was a deputy prosecutor, King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office from 1976 to 1979.

On March 24, 1999, Pechman was nominated by President Bill Clinton[2] to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington vacated by William Lee Dwyer.

Pechman sat on the Karnoski v. Trump case for over three years without issuing a decision.

Joe Biden eventually repealed the Trump trans soldier ban.

She wrote the district court opinion in Trueblood v. Washington State DSHS.