Legislative Recommendations - Statutory

COMMENTS

7. Repeal contracting period between municipalities and county district courts. See draft legislation at Appendix H of report.

Amendment made: two year notice required if eliminating the court and a prohibition against ending contract within a four-year judicial term.

Vote: 9 favored, 1 opposed. Motion passed.

9. Prohibit part-time judges from serving as city attorneys, prosecutors or public defenders. See draft legislation at Appendix R.

No motion.

10. Allow all elected judges or retired judges (defined in statute) to sit in superior court, district court or municipal court at the request of the presiding judge, without the consent of the parties. See draft statutory and constitutional changes at Appendix I of report.

Vote: 10 favored, 1 opposed. Motion passed.

13. Allow attorney/collection fees up to $300 for small claims judgments. See draft legislation at Appendix K of report.

Vote: 9 favored, 2 opposed. Motion passed.

14. Allow mandatory arbitration under RCW Chapter 7.06 in district courts. See draft legislation at Appendix L of report.

Amended to eliminate 70,000 population threshold.

Vote: 8 favored, 3 opposed. Motion passed.

20. Create the infraction of DWLS 4^th. See draft legislation at Appendix M of report.

No motion.

22. Record small claims proceedings; appeal under RALJ. See draft legislation at Appendix J of report.

Passed unanimously.

26. Allow commissioners to preside over emancipation petitions. See draft of legislation at Appendix O of report.

Passed unanimously.

32. Assess unmet civil legal needs of low-income people - OAC responsibility. See draft legislation at Appendix P of report.

Passed unanimously.

Legislative Recommendations - Budgetary

COMMENTS

4. Funding request to support trial court coordinating councils (Recommendation 3). See draft legislation at Appendix E of report.

Passed unanimously.

11. Funding request to support innovative court programs. See draft resolution at Appendix B of report.

Passed unanimously.

16. Universal cashiering; electronic access for court ordered payments.

Passed unanimously.

39. Caseflow Management reports for Courts of Limited Jurisdiction.

Passed unanimously.

40. Improve case management reports for all trial courts.

Passed unanimously.

42. Judicial case management performance reports.

Passed unanimously.

Court Rule Recommendations

COMMENTS

5. Increase the authority of presiding judges. See draft rule at Appendix F of report.

Passed unanimously.

23. Add provision for motion on merits to RALJ.

Passed unanimously.

24. Record all CLJ proceedings; appeal under RALJ. See draft of court rule at Appendix N of report.

Passed unanimously.

27. Adopt a court rule providing "unbundled legal services."

Passed unanimously.

30. Consider a court rule encouraging superior courts to adopt a unified family court approach.

Passed unanimously to table.

33. Establish qualifications and authority for courthouse facilitators. See draft rule at Appendix Q of report.

Passed unanimously.

35. Establish mandatory continuing judicial education requirements for all judicial officers.

Passed unanimously.

Other Action Recommendations

COMMENTS

3. Promote trial court coordination councils. See draft resolution at Appendix B of report.

Passed unanimously.

6. Promote integrated case management (family court; drug court, etc.). The BJA should adopt the resolution from the Conference of Chief Justices and Conference of State Court Administrators in support of problem-solving courts found at Appendix G of report.

Passed unanimously.

12. Promote best practices and innovative ideas among all trial courts.

Passed unanimously.

17. The OAC should establish a statewide protocol with a single collection agency for collection of delinquent court ordered financial obligations. A committee including court managers and judges should provide oversight.

Recommendation amended as shown.

Passed unanimously.

18. Courts of limited jurisidction should establish community license reinstaqtement programs, with voluntary participation by individual jurisdictions. The Office of the Administrator for the Courts should serve as a respostory for information, and provide guidance and assistance to jurisdictions in developing programs.

Courts of limited jurisdiction are encouraged to establish community license reinstatement programs, with voluntary participation by individual jurisdictions. The Office of the Administrator for the Courts should serve as a repository for information, and provide guidance and assistance to jurisdictions in developing programs.

Vote: 7 favored, 5 against, but because no CLJ member voted, failed.

Recommendation amended as shown.

Passed unanimously.

21. Promote alternatives to issuing warrants.

Passed unanimously to table.

25. Promote continuing education for all professionals who work with parents and children in dissolution, legal separation and parentage cases.

Passed unanimously.

28. Promote information about supervisors of alternate residential time and of exchanges of child(ren).

Passed unanimously.

29. Monitor the King County Early Mediation Pilot Project.

Passed unanimously.

36. Create plain English, user-friendly court forms.

Passed unanimously.

37. Add more information and clarification on parenting plan forms.

Passed unanimously.

38. Protect personal and confidential information in court records.

Passed unanimously.

41. Make locally developed case management systems available statewide.

Passed unanimously to table.

Further Study Recommendations

COMMENTS

2. Study the current statutory provisions allowing multiple districts for district court within a single county.

Passed unanimously.

8. Study minimum certification standards for courts of limited jurisdiction.

15. Study the monetary levels that define certain property offense felonies in order to redefine them as misdemeanors.

Passed unanimously.

19. The Board for Judicial Administration should study whether all legal financial obligations in criminal cases except restitution should be decriminalized.

Recommendation amended as shown.

Passed unanimously.

31. Study existing statutes that create barriers to the implementation and operation of a unified family court.

Passed unanimously to table.

34. Study and determine if family law courthouse facilitator programs should be implemented in other areas of law.

Passed unanimously.

43. Study the discovery rules in the trial courts.

Passed unanimously.

Recommendations Requiring No Further Action

COMMENTS

1. The trial courts in the state of Washington, i.e., the superior courts, the district courts and the municipal courts, should not consolidate (merge) either in whole or in part.

Motion made for BJA to create a committee to write legislation to consolidate the district and municipal courts in Washington. Vote: 5 favored, 7 against. Motion failed.

Motion to accept recommendtion as written. Vote: 9 favored, 2 opposed. Motion passed.