Administrative Office of the Courts

Established in 1957 by state lawmakers, the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) provides support for Washington's non-unified courts through a wide range of services to promote the efficient administration of justice.

AOC operates under the direction of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and management from the State Court Administrator. Through this leadership, AOC supports Washington's Judicial Branch by providing many services that include:

• Developing operational budgets.
• Evaluating judicial system functionality.
• Maintaining the Judicial Information System (JIS), the computer network that serves the entire court system.
• Providing continuing education for judges.
• Compiling statewide court statistics annually.
• Maintaining a statewide electronic court record database
• Providing information to the judicial community, other branches of government and the general public.

State Court Administrator

The Washington State Court Administrator is appointed by the Supreme Court to act as a liaison between the judicial, executive, and legislative branches, justice partners and other state agencies. The State Court Administrator is also responsible for monitoring operations for more than 240 employees in four divisions of service within AOC:

• Administrative Services Division
• Court Services Division
• Information Services Division
• Management Services Division

Boards, Committees, and Commissions

AOC provides coordination, support, and funding oversight for a variety of special programs including:

• Court Education Committee (CEC)
• Ethics Advisory Committee
• Gender and Justice Commission
• Judicial Information System Committee
• Minority and Justice Commission