Skip Page LinksWelcome to Washington State Courts
Courts Home> Caseloads of the Courts
 

Caseloads of the Courts of Washington

Courts of Limited Jurisdiction
Court Activity Trends by Type of Case - 2008 to 2012

2008 2009 % Chg 2010 % Chg 2011 % Chg 2012 % Chg
CASE FILINGS (EXCEPT PARKING)
Traffic Infractions  1,030,270  1,059,072  2.8 %  1,001,938  -5.4 %  972,140  -3 %  872,789  -10.2 % 
Non-Traffic Infractions  32,451  34,258  5.6 %  32,838  -4.1 %  34,182  4.1 %  30,126  -11.9 % 
DUI/Physical Control Misdemeanors  39,455  41,006  3.9 %  38,191  -6.9 %  38,024  -0.4 %  34,701  -8.7 % 
Other Traffic Misdemeanors (1)  135,758  136,670  0.7 %  124,731  -8.7 %  113,720  -8.8 %  98,564  -13.3 % 
Non-Traffic Misdemeanors  134,143  138,002  2.9 %  131,553  -4.7 %  127,240  -3.3 %  119,543  -6 % 
Felony Complaints (2)  4,131  4,915  19 %  5,492  11.7 %  5,579  1.6 %  5,841  4.7 % 
Civil  125,935  115,308  -8.4 %  117,725  2.1 %  118,813  0.9 %  115,204  -3 % 
Civil Harassment Protection (3)  8,384  8,080  -3.6 %  8,031  -0.6 %  8,044  0.2 %  8,590  6.8 % 
Domestic Violence Protection (3)  2,458  2,505  1.9 %  2,244  -10.4 %  2,300  2.5 %  2,255  -2 % 
Sexual Assault Protection  86  67  -22.1 %  49  -26.9 %  84  71.4 %  66  -21.4 % 
Small Claims  23,938  23,616  -1.3 %  19,005  -19.5 %  16,667  -12.3 %  15,301  -8.2 % 
Total Non-Parking Filings  1,537,009  1,563,499  1.7 %  1,481,797  -5.2 %  1,436,793  -3 %  1,302,980  -9.3 % 
CHARGE DISPOSITIONS (EXC. PARKING)
Traffic Infraction  1,263,133  1,346,587  6.6 %  1,261,079  -6.3 %  1,216,435  -3.5 %  1,084,478  -10.8 % 
Non-Traffic Infraction  37,847  41,049  8.5 %  37,580  -8.5 %  42,720  13.7 %  38,991  -8.7 % 
DUI/Physical Control  28,473  26,589  -6.6 %  25,150  -5.4 %  23,844  -5.2 %  22,230  -6.8 % 
Other Traffic Misdemeanor (1)  132,893  126,880  -4.5 %  116,649  -8.1 %  105,840  -9.3 %  97,839  -7.6 % 
Non-Traffic Misdemeanor  173,419  178,483  2.9 %  170,804  -4.3 %  165,621  -3 %  160,396  -3.2 % 
Felony Preliminary (4)  5,164  5,334  3.3 %  5,605  5.1 %  6,090  8.7 %  6,365  4.5 % 
Civil  108,408  106,583  -1.7 %  102,195  -4.1 %  106,288  4 %  110,566  4 % 
Domestic Violence/Antiharassment (3)  9,740  9,009  -7.5 %  8,800  -2.3 %  9,107  3.5 %  9,598  5.4 % 
Small Claims  24,091  20,261  -15.9 %  16,960  -16.3 %  13,758  -18.9 %  11,823  -14.1 % 
Total Non-Parking Dispositions  1,783,168  1,860,775  4.2 %  1,744,822  -6.1 %  1,689,703  -3.1 %  1,542,286  -8.7 % 
CONTESTED PROCEEDINGS (EXC. PARKING)
Jury Trials  2,999  2,780  -7.3 %  2,625  -5.6 %  2,397  -8.7 %  2,143  -10.6 % 
Non-Jury Trials and Contested Small Claims Hrgs.  14,956  15,739  5.2 %  13,739  -12.7 %  12,407  -9.7 %  11,621  -6.3 % 
Contested Traffic Inf. Hrgs.  143,787  155,849  8.4 %  144,444  -7.3 %  136,089  -5.8 %  123,101  -9.5 % 
Contested Non-Traffic Inf. Hrgs.  3,229  3,575  10.7 %  3,093  -13.5 %  3,242  4.8 %  3,069  -5.3 % 
Cont. Non-Parking Proceedings  164,971  177,943  7.9 %  163,901  -7.9 %  154,135  -6 %  139,934  -9.2 % 
REVENUE (EXC. PARKING)
Traffic Infractions  135,558,150  143,151,914  5.6 %  140,581,069  -1.8 %  138,111,861  -1.8 %  128,887,280  -6.7 % 
Non-Traffic Infractions  1,695,020  1,875,739  10.7 %  1,753,018  -6.5 %  1,997,283  13.9 %  2,039,247  2.1 % 
DUI/Physical Control  14,329,620  13,744,098  -4.1 %  14,197,345  3.3 %  14,769,839  4 %  15,265,452  3.4 % 
Other Traffic Misdemeanors (1)  14,820,067  14,086,075  -5 %  13,557,000  -3.8 %  13,455,185  -0.8 %  13,077,402  -2.8 % 
Non-Traffic Misdemeanors  10,005,625  9,377,368  -6.3 %  8,612,037  -8.2 %  8,084,933  -6.1 %  7,262,744  -10.2 % 
Criminal Court Costs Recovered  6,539,703  7,103,513  8.6 %  7,190,500  1.2 %  7,337,596  2 %  7,328,071  -0.1 % 
Civil  7,141,059  7,824,343  9.6 %  9,306,311  18.9 %  8,998,033  -3.3 %  9,100,306  1.1 % 
Small Claims  352,198  471,001  33.7 %  492,113  4.5 %  408,704  -16.9 %  374,421  -8.4 % 
Total Non-Parking Revenue  190,441,442  197,634,051  3.8 %  195,689,393  -1 %  193,163,434  -1.3 %  183,334,923  -5.1 % 
PSEA-2  28,133,710  28,729,083  2.1 %  27,982,986  -2.6 %  27,644,743  -1.2 %  25,981,530  -6 % 
PARKING INFRACTION ACTIVITY (5)
Filings  795,776  922,103  15.9 %  967,212  4.9 %  923,113  -4.6 %  806,334  -12.7 % 
Dispositions  595,578  650,673  9.3 %  711,329  9.3 %  709,288  -0.3 %  619,852  -12.6 % 
Contested Hearings  20,487  26,867  31.1 %  28,933  7.7 %  26,477  -8.5 %  21,876  -17.4 % 
Revenue  31,562,590  37,535,552  18.9 %  45,929,492  22.4 %  44,998,675  -2 %  45,938,908  2.1 % 

(1) In City of Redmond v. Moore, 151 Wn.2d 664 (2004), the Washington State Supreme Court held that "Driving With License Suspended" (DWLS) statutes providing for the mandatory suspension of a driver's license without an administrative hearing violate procedural due process and are unconstitutional. The large percentage variations from 2003 to 2005 are due in large part to that decision.
(2) Some courts have felony probable-cause activity in addition to the formal felony complaint filings shown here. For felony probable-cause statistics, see the statewide trend table titled "Felony Activity" and the court-level table titled "Felony Complaints".
(3) Does not include related criminal charges, which are included in misdemeanor categories.
(4) Includes dispositions of felony preliminary matters only.
(5) Overall parking infraction filings during 2012 were down approximately 12% compared to 2011. However, a review of information for individual courts or jurisdictions may show significant increases in parking infraction activity. This appears to be the results of legislative changes related to the Discover Pass (Chapter 262, Laws 2012) or new photo-enforcement violation filings.

 
 
Courts | Organizations | News | Opinions | Rules | Forms | Directory | Library 
Back to Top | Privacy and Disclaimer Notices