How Courts are Financed

Funds to support Washington's courts come from state and local sources.

State Sources

Only a small portion of the total cost of operating state government is devoted to the courts. Court operations funded directly by the state include those of the Supreme Court (including the Supreme Court Clerk's Office, the Reporter of Decisions, the State Law Library, and the Administrative Office of the Courts), the Court of Appeals, half of the salaries and benefits of superior court judges, and a smaller portion of salaries of district court judges.

Local Sources

As is the case at the state level, the amount spent to support local courts is small relative to expenditures made for other city and county government operations. Though local governments finance the major portion of the state's judicial system, during recent years those expenditures have represented only six percent of all funds spent by local governments. Local funds support the cost of court administration, juries, local law libraries, court facilities, civil process services and witness expenses.