Warrant Resolution Work Group

July 6, 2000

Call to Order

Minutes

Judge Peterson reported on the prior day's meeting of the Washington State Law and Justice Committee. The Committee is discussing issues similar to those before this workgroup. Concepts of community justice and not jailing people for failure to pay fines are avenues that may positively impact the warrant problem.

Reports

Spokane has reinstated 320 drivers so far. They are looking at signing up 1500 in the next year. It is expected the program will be self-sustaining once up and running.

Collection agencies have been cooperative, as many of these offenders have been written off. The collection agencies are receiving money they might not otherwise have been able to collect.

Questions were raised about the court's ability to re-suspend for failure to live up to the agreement. Other problems that currently exist are an inability to deal with multiple jurisdiction offenders. Where multiple jurisdictions have been involved, ad hoc agreements between courts have worked in some situation.

Statewide Collections.
There are three basic concepts that underlie for this proposal: consolidation of all financial obligation, one place to pay, and no criminal result for non-payment. The over arching idea is to get courts out of the collections business. The proposal is that a single agency or business accepts payments for all court ordered financial obligations. It is envisioned that there will be a point of collection convenient to each court.

Points that need further development are whether the perception that more money will be collected and that courts will experience a savings in personnel are accurate as a basis for projecting that no additional fees will need to be imposed.

Questions that arise concern statues of limitations and ability of an entity other than a court to collect restitution.

Currently courts are able to maintain some control over the cases even once referred to collections. In some cases, the court is able pull the case back and to reduce the financial obligation and impose community service. A concern exists that central payment would limit or deny this flexibility.

Warrant Pilot Project.
To this point, the committee has been willing to allow Judge McBeth to shepherd this project with little involvement from the workgroup. However, it is felt this project is inter-related with other ideas being discussed by this group and is part of the workgroups charge. Judge Peterson will be talking with Judge McBeth with the intent of increased workgroup involvement. Judges McBeth and Lukevich will be asked to discuss their ideas with the workgroup at the next meeting.

FTA Reduction.
Materials reviewed by the committee seem to suggest efforts to remind offenders of upcoming court dates have been successful. Judge McRae expressed some concern about equating court appearances with doctor or dentist appointments. The requirement to appear in court is by order of the court and should have more significance than an appointment.

Prisoner Transport.
The group working on this issue will report at the next meeting.

Decriminalization.
It was reported that DWLS offenders fill 5% of jail beds at any given time. This figure is not broken down between DWLS 1, 2, or 3.

Were DWLS 3 decriminalized, it is expected there would be fewer hearings and that DWLS 3 would not result in imposition of jail time. The question becomes how to enforce the policy behind DWLS 3 without criminal sanctions. A suggestion was made that DWLS 3 be decriminalized but that a third DWLS 3rd result in a charge for habitual offender or a more serious level of DWLS.

Ron O'Gwin reported that in fiscal year 1999, DOL suspended 290,000 licenses for all reasons. Of those, 105,000 were for DWLS 3rd convictions.

The political realities of decriminalization were also discussed. Dick Van Wagenen suggested that a monetary saving is not a sufficient reason. There must be some policy basis for removing criminal sanctions.

A question arose about whether impounds can be based on an infraction. Impound proceedings are in rem proceedings based on use of property in the commission of a crime. Decriminalization may also result in diminishing the effectiveness of impound law.

Law enforcement expressed some concern about losing the investigative tool of a search incident to arrest. It is felt there are many situations in which a DWLS 3 arrest has lead to confiscation of drugs and prosecution for drug offenses.

Warrant Sweeps.
It is felt this should be a law enforcement initiative. The committee encourages law enforcement to be creative in serving warrants.

Prioritization

Judge Peterson asked that community justice become a topic for discussion between OAC, DOL and those jurisdictions that have instituted license reinstatement as an approach to dealing with outstanding warrants.

Judge Peterson asked that draft legislation be prepared for the next meeting. Any legal questions that arise should also be researched by that time.

Fred Thompson has resigned from the workgroup so Sue Carlson will be heading the central payment component. Judge Fraizer, Dick Van Wagenen and Mike Shaw will pursue decriminalization.

Judge Peterson thanked Fred Thompson for his work and noted his replacement will be Tandra Schwanberg.

Meeting Schedule

Other Business

Adjournment