Jurisdiction & Portability Work Group

August 25, 2000

Portability and Specialization Subcommittee

Members present: Judge Randal Fritzler, chair; Rena Hollis; Jon Ostlund; Kathy Gerke; Gail Stone

Guest present: Commissioner Eric Watness; Dan Erker; Janet Skreen; Sue Carlson; Stacy Connole

Staff present: Yvonne Pettus

The committee approved the meeting summary from the July 20, 2000 meeting.

Truancy

Judge Fritzler reported on conversation with Judge Fleck regarding moving truancy petitions outside the court system. Judge Fleck is opposed to the concept. Jon Ostlund thought that maybe more predicates should be required prior to filing the petition with the court. Dan Erker reported on the process of filing the petitions, truancy boards, and the reimbursement process for schools filing the petitions. In Pierce County, he reported that 90 percent of the cases have good results with only one court appearance and the court never sees the truant again. In the remaining 10 percent of the cases, Pierce County has leveraged funds from several community and county agencies to provide functional family therapy for the truants. He is optimistic that this will be successful. The Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) is currently studying the truancy issue.

Commissioner Watness reported that in King County there is no probation department involvement. He sees the court as an accountability manager for the truants, the parents, and the schools. King County is hiring a truancy coordinator to coordinate services for truants. He feels the schools need to be provided with more intervention resources. Early intervention is essential.

Janet Skreen reported on her experience as a commissioner in Kitsap County dealing with the truancy cases. She feels that the court has the authority to make the truants accountable. The truancy boards do not have that authority. The court can also hold the schools accountable. It is important to work with the schools prior to the school year so the expectations are clear.

The subcommittee decided not to make any recommendation but to wait for the WSIPP study results.

Universal Payment of Fines and Penalties

Sue Carlson reported on the proposals currently being discussed by the Warrant Resolution Workgroup. The proposals will require modifications to the Judicial Information System (JIS). The first proposal is to allow a defendant pay a citation at any court in the state. The workgroup is proposing local jurisdictions to add a $5 fee for the local jurisdiction if the defendant wants to pay citations not issued by that jurisdiction. This would allow the local jurisdiction to recoup the costs of processing the payment for another jurisdiction.

The workgroup is also proposing a centralized collection agency contract for all courts of limited jurisdiction. The proposal would also include a mandatory relicensing component. OAC would monitor the contract along with an oversight committee.

The subcommittee supports the proposals.

Court-Ordered Legal Financial Obligations (LFO)

Jon Ostlund reported on his research and recommendations. The subcommittee discussed the decriminalization of LFOs except restitution, fines and crime victim assessments. Other LFOs would become civil judgments.

Municipal Court Termination Statute

Currently, RCW 3.50.810 requires any municipality that terminates a municipal court to wait for 10 years before re-establishing a municipal court. The subcommittee felt the 10-year waiting period had a chilling effect on cities terminating municipal courts. The workgroup recommends reducing the waiting period. The workgroup recommends that the Association of Washington Cities, the Washington State Association of Counties and the District and Municipal Court Judges' Association decide the appropriate time period for the waiting period.

Civil Cases in Municipal Court

The subcommittee discussed making small claims jurisdiction concurrent between district and municipal courts and including a provision for transferring cases between the two courts if conflicts arise. The subcommittee agreed to recommend this change with the exception of Kathy Gerke.

Name Changes

The subcommittee recommends that confidential name changes pursuant to RCW 4.24.130(5) remain in the superior court but that all other name changes be removed to the county auditor. The auditor should be allowed to charge a filing fee to recoup the cost of the additional workload.

Emancipation of Minors

The subcommittee discussed emancipation of minors statute. It is recommended that RCW 13.64.040 be amended to clarify that court commissioners can hear these cases. It is also recommended that these cases be treated as juvenile cases in the Superior Court Management Information System (SCOMIS) as a case type 7 similar to truancy cases.

Indigency Screening

The subcommittee discussed indigency screening as an activity that lends itself to collaboration between court levels and other county agencies.

Specialty Courts

Judge Fritzler shared with the group a resolution from the Conference of Chief Justices and Conference of State Court Administrators regarding specialty or therapeutic courts. Yvonne will send the resolution to the subcommittee to determine if the subcommittee wants to recommend endorsement of the resolution.