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BLAINE MUNICIPAL COURT (BNM)
LOCAL COURT RULES
TABLE OF RULES
Preface
BNMGR - General Rules
1. Scope & Adoption of Rules
24. Courtroom Decorum
26. Judges Pro Tempore
30. Filing
31. Disclosure of Court Records
34. Order of Docket
BNMCrR - Criminal Rules
2.2. Quashing Warrants
4.1. Crimes Requiring Defendant's Appearance at Arraignment
4.5. Required Presence at Pretrial Hearings
4.8. Request for Subpoena
6.1. Trial by Jury, Pretrial Hearing, Readiness Hearing
6.2. Written Jury Instructions
8.2. Motions - Judicial Copies
BNM IR - Infraction Rules
2.6. Scheduling of Hearings
3.1. Pre-Hearing Procedures
6.6. Telephonic Procedure at Contested Hearings
7. Infraction Witness Fee
8. Infraction Fines - No Proof of Liability Insurance
PREFACE
1.
PROMULGATION
These rules shall be known as the Local Rules for Municipal Court
of Blaine, County of Whatcom, State of Washington. Copies of
these rules will be filed with the Office of the Administer of
the Courts, and the Clerk of the Municipal Court of Blaine.
Copies of these rules will be distributed to the Whatcom Law
Library for public reference. To the extent possible, these
rules will be placed on the Internet at the Blaine Municipal
Court web page. Copies will be available from the Municipal
Court Clerk for Blaine. These rules will be effective on
September 1, 2012, and supersede all prior rules of this court.
2.
NUMBERING
Consistent with GR 7(b) Washington Court Rules, these rules to
the extent possible, conform in numbering system and in format to
those rules adopted by the Supreme Court of the State of
Washington for courts of limited jurisdiction and facilitate the
use of the same. Each rule should be considered supplemental to
the Washington Court Rules applicable to Courts of Limited Jurisdiction.
3.
REVISIONS AND ADDITIONS (RESERVED)
1
SCOPE & ADOPTION OF RULES
These rules are adopted pursuant to GR 7 and govern the procedure in the Blaine
Municipal Court in Whatcom County in the State of Washington. These rules are
supplemental to the rules enacted by the Washington State Supreme Court for
Courts of Limited Jurisdiction as specifically authorized by GR 7, CrRLJ 1.7,
and IRLJ 1.3 of the Washington Court Rules. The Blaine Municipal Court may
modify or suspend any of these local rules in any given case upon good cause
being shown or upon the court's own motion in the interests of justice and/or
the efficient operation of the court.
24
COURTROOM DECORUM
All attorneys and other individuals in the courtroom shall abide by the
following rules of conduct:
(a) Always be Prompt. Be in the courtroom ready to proceed at the appointed time.
(b) Dress Appropriately to the Serious Nature of the Matters Before
the Court. Shorts and other kinds of beach apparel are not appropriate.
Clothing advertising alcoholic beverages or illegal drugs are not appropriate.
Hats are not to be worn in the courtroom.
(c) Do Not Disrupt the Court Proceedings. Disruptive behavior that
interferes with the functioning of the judicial system, including preventing or
blocking attorneys, defendants, court officials and staff from hearing the
proceedings, will be presumptively considered to be eligible for sanction as
Contempt of Court under RCW 7.21, et al.
26
JUDGES PRO TEMPORE
Except as limited by statute, Judges Pro Tempore shall have the authority of a
regular judge during regular Court sessions for which he or she is appointed.
30
FILING
All pleadings and other papers shall be filed with this court by mail,
messenger or hand delivery. The court does not accept facsimile transmission or
e-mail of original pleadings or papers.
31
DISCLOSURE OF COURT RECORDS
(a) The following records and files are deemed confidential and are not
available to the public for inspection or copying absent a court order, unless
clearly authorized my statute or court rules.
(1) Affidavits for search warrants before a return of service and inventory
have been filed with the court;
(2) Mental Health, psychiatric and medical reports;
(3) Alcohol and drug evaluations and compliance reports;
(4) Deferred prosecution evaluations and police reports;
(5) Certified copies of driving records, abstracts of driving records (except
for a person who has a pending case before Blaine Municipal Court for a
suspended license violation or an open infraction or criminal case that has
resulted in the suspension of a person's driver's license) and compiled reports
of arrests and convictions;
(6) Judge's notes and worksheets;
(7) Witness statements;
(8) Address of jurors;
(9) Juror notes taken during trial.
(b) Document Requests and Fees. All requests for release of
records/information shall be governed by the Judicial Information System
Committee's Data Dissemination Policy, GR 31, and ARLJ 9. Fees for the
duplication and preparation of documents and recordings shall be maintained and
made available by the Court Clerk. Payment for copies of documents and recordings
must be received before copies are made, unless otherwise ordered by the court.
34
ORDER OF DOCKET
(a) Criminal matters will be heard first, starting with arraignments. At
the court's discretion, priority can be given to criminal matters in which the
defendant is represented by an attorney, in order to minimize the effect of
attorney fees on the criminal justice system. After criminal matters are
complete, then civil matters, including infractions, will be heard, regardless
of whether or not either party is represented by an attorney.
(b) For good cause shown, the Court may adjust the schedule to accommodate
conflicts, disabilities, or other good causes and set any matter at other times
and days, or adjust the order of the docket.
2.2
QUASHING WARRANTS
The defendant or defendant's attorney may schedule a hearing to quash a
warrant, either in person or by telephone. The warrant will not be stayed or
quashed and the defendant will still be subject to arrest on the warrant until
the defendant has appeared in open court and the judge has quashed the warrant,
unless otherwise authorized by the Court after a telephonic hearing.
No warrant will be quashed until the defendant has paid a fee pursuant to a
schedule maintained and made available by the Court Clerk; provided that the
fee may be waived by the court in the interest of justice, for good cause shown.
4.1
CRIMES REQUIRING DEFENDANT'S APPEARANCE AT ARRAIGNMENT
A lawyer may not enter a written plea or not guilty plea on behalf of a client
if the charging document states that one or more of the charges involves
domestic violence, violation of a no contact order, driving under the influence
of intoxicants, driving while under the age of 21 after having consumed
alcohol, or physical control of a vehicle while under the influence of
intoxicants. For such charges, the defendant must appear in person for
arraignments and the court shall determine appropriate conditions of pretrial
release. Where legislation mandates the defendant's appearance on the next
judicial day following arrest, the term "next judicial day" as applied to the
municipal court shall mean the next regularly scheduled court day for the
Blaine Municipal Court.
4.5
REQUIRED PRESENCE AT PRETRIAL HEARINGS
Unless a disposition of the case is entered into at the first appearance
hearing or arraignment, a pretrial hearing shall be scheduled and held.
Defendant and all counsel must be present at any pretrial hearing. Failure of
the defendant to appear may result in the issuance of a bench warrant.
4.8
REQUEST FOR SUBPOENA
Any request for a subpoena to be issued by the court must be filed in writing
at least fourteen (14) days before the hearing, or such lesser time as the
court deems proper. The request may not be combined with a Notice of Appearance
or any other pleading.
6.1
TRIAL BY JURY, PRETRIAL HEARING, READINESS HEARING
In every criminal case in which the defendant pleads not guilty, the clerk
shall set a date for a pretrial hearing. The purpose of said hearing is for
presentation of motions, completion of plea bargaining, or to set a trial date
and readiness hearing. Unless the pretrial hearing is continued to another date
or the case is resolved at the hearing, a trial date shall be scheduled at the
pre-trial hearing. If a jury trial date is set a readiness hearing date will be
set. If the right to jury trial is waived it must be done so in writing.
If the defendant fails to appear at the pretrial hearing without good cause,
forfeiture of bail may be ordered and the court may order a bench warrant for
the arrest of the defendant if probable cause is established.
Prior to an assigned jury trial date, a readiness hearing shall be held. At
such hearing, it shall be mandatory that the prosecuting authority, the defense
counsel, and the defendant be present unless otherwise authorized by the court.
At such hearing, the following matters will be concluded:
(a) Exchange of witness lists,
(b) Providing of any discovery not previously exchanged at the pretrial hearing, and,
(c) Motions on legal issues arising subsequent to the pretrial hearing based
on new evidence or on matters related to the trial itself.
At the readiness hearing, the parties will inform the Court of any issues
related to the jury trial date and raise appropriate motions related to the
conduct of the trial.
Any continuance of the trial date after the readiness hearing, shall be
authorized by the Judge. The clerk shall then set a new hearing date in the
matter.
Failure of the defendant to be present at the readiness hearing may result in
the issuance of a bench warrant for failure to appear, forfeiture of bail, and
the striking of the jury trial date.
6.2
WRITTEN JURY INSTRUCTIONS
Proposed jury instructions shall be submitted on plain paper with no mark
identifying the attorney or party. The original, which shall be free of
citations of authority, and one copy, with the citation of authority, shall be
submitted to the court at the readiness hearing by each party. Copies of the
original of each parties proposed jury instructions shall be emailed to the
court clerk as a document that can be modified, before the trial date to
facilitate changes to instructions by the Court during the jury trial.
8.2
MOTIONS - JUDICIAL COPIES
Judicial physical copies of all cases cited or relied upon, will be delivered
to the Clerk of the Court at the time of the filing of the motion. Such
judicial copies will be clearly marked as such, with the date and time of the
hearing indicated.
To facilitate judicial preparation Judge's copies maybe sent by email so long
as all parties are emailed copies at the same time.
2.6
SCHEDULING OF HEARINGS
(a) Mitigation. Mitigation hearings may be conducted based upon written
statements or requests. Pursuant to IRLJ 2.6(c) the court is not required to
notify the parties of a date for the examination of the mitigation request.
(b) Traffic Calendar. Infraction hearings shall be set on the traffic
calendar unless a request for discovery has been made or the presence of the
officer has been requested at which time the court date may be reset or set on
the criminal calendar.
(c) Tracking with Criminal Offenses. If the respondent is also charged with a
criminal offense arising out of the same incident as that which gives rise to
an alleged civil infraction, the hearing on the infraction may be scheduled at
the same time as any hearing set for a criminal matter.
(d) Infraction Continuances. A court clerk may grant one (1) request for a
continuance via telephone. The continuance must be requested at least three (3)
days prior to the scheduled hearing. Thereafter, all requests must be made in
writing and will be approved only by the court and will be granted only where a
clear showing of necessity has been made to the satisfaction of the court.
3.1
PRE-HEARING PROCEDURES
(a) Request For Subpoena. Any request for a subpoena to be issued by the
court must be filed in writing at least fourteen (14) days before the hearing, or
such lesser time as the court deems proper. The request may not be combined
with a Notice of Appearance or any other pleading.
(b) Infractions Discovery. Discovery requests for material other than a
copy of the infraction, the officer's report and the speed measuring device
certification must be by written Motion and set for hearing to determine the
relevance of such requests.
(c) Motions. Respondent's motions shall be made in writing and served on
the Prosecutor for the City, and filed with the Clerk of the Court, at least
fourteen (14) days before the infraction hearing. Untimely motions will be
denied. Motions challenging the authority of the Court, the constitutionality
of the Court, the constitutionality of any statute, ordinance or court rule
pertaining to an infraction, the suppression of evidence, the authority of the
prosecuting attorney prosecuting an infraction, and/or the authority of the law
enforcement agency or officer filing an infraction must be made with citations
to authority and legal argument, and will be decided by the Court without oral
argument, as per Washington State's IRLJ 3.5.
(d) Officer Witnesses. In any case where the City intends to call or to
rely upon the sworn statement of a local law enforcement officer, the duty to
provide a list of witnesses to the Respondent may be met by providing a copy of
the citing officer's sworn statement on which the officer is identified.
(e) Dismissal by Suppression. No motion to dismiss or to suppress evidence
for failure to provide discovery not required by IRLJ 3.1(b) may be heard by
the Court unless the moving party has previously obtained an order from the
Court compelling production of the additional discovery.
6.6
TELEPHONIC PROCEDURE AT CONTESTED HEARINGS
When any speed measuring device expert is requested to testify in a contested
infraction hearing, the expert may testify by telephone, unless otherwise
ordered by the court prior to the scheduled hearing date in response to a
written motion, filed, noted, and heard prior to the date set for the
contested hearing.
7
INFRACTION WITNESS FEE
Each party is responsible for costs incurred by that party as set forth in
RCW 46.63.151. The party requesting the subpoena of a witness shall pay the
witness fees and mileage expenses due that witness.
8
INFRACTION FINES - NO PROOF OF LIABILITY INSURANCE
If a person who has been cited with a violation of RCW 46.30.020 (failure to
have proof of liability insurance) presents to the court clerk, by mail, email,
or fax only, evidence that the person had in effect at the time of the citation
liability insurance as required by RCW 46.30.020, then, upon payment of twenty-
five ($25.00) administrative costs, the case shall be dismissed and the court
clerk shall be authorized to make appropriate notation of the dismissal in the
court file. This section is applicable only if the person charged has
otherwise complied with all rules and procedures that govern responding to
notices of infraction.
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