PORT ANGELES – After much amiable talk of hard-to-pin-down goals such as ecotourism, affordable housing and interconnectedness in economic development, the Sequim and Port Angeles city councils honed in Monday night on something that could – relatively quickly — affect people on the ground in both cities: a joint municipal court.
Nothing like it in state
There’s no such thing anywhere else in the state, Sequim City Attorney Craig Ritchie told the two councils, which held their first joint meeting in memory Monday at the Vern Burton Community Center.
City staffers in both Port Angeles and Sequim believe, however, that it’s possible to set up a municipal court in each community, to better serve residents dealing with traffic tickets and other minor offenses.
Currently, defendants, witnesses and police officers involved in infractions, misdemeanor charges and small claims cases must go to county District Court in Port Angeles.
Because of the steepening caseload, they often they endure long waits.
For Sequim residents, those hours sitting in the courtroom are tacked on to another hour or more spent driving to and from the Clallam County Courthouse in Port Angeles.
Another reason both cities are looking at establishing a separate court is potential cost savings, both Ritchie and Port Angeles City Attorney Bill Bloor told their councils.
District Court filing fees have doubled for Sequim over last year, while they have gone up 25 percent for Port Angeles cases, officials from both communities have noted.
The increase means Port Angeles and Sequim are paying about $59 per case now.
“The main issue is the economy,” Bloor said, adding that Port Angeles City Manager Kent Myers instructed all department heads to dig up ways to cut expenses.
Ritchie, for his part, added that there may be benefits that are hard to put into dollar figures.
“We would have an easier time,” he said, “having police officers and witnesses available . . . if people didn’t have to travel.”
Another intangible: Having a municipal court of your own “kind of shows that you’re growing, and you’re a real city,” providing convenient services, Ritchie said.
And Sequim, he added, is home to many retired judges and lawyers qualified to be judges who could serve on the city’s own judicial panel.
‘Completely neutral’
District Court Judge Rick Porter stepped up then to address the two city councils.
True to his profession, Porter declared himself “completely neutral” on the municipal court question, but listed some facts he wants the officials to be aware of.
“We have a very extensive probation program,” Porter began.
“We have a court commissioner whose sole job is to track probationers,” who number about 1,000 at any given time.
The District Court also provides a potent drug-court program for illegal-drug offenders as well as a program for people coping with mental health problems.
“I encourage you to come by,” Porter said, “so when you design your own courts, at least you’ll know what the baseline is here.”
Porter also acknowledged that his courtroom handles a heavy load.
“I do about 2,500 criminal cases a year,” which means several thousand hearings, “and probably another 7,000 infractions,” he said.
“There’s only one courtroom, one building to do this in,” so people often must sit through a litany of cases before theirs comes up.
Long considered
The people in Sequim have been hearing about an alternative “for quite a while now,” said Sequim City Manager Steve Burkett.
Reports were done in 2008 on a municipal court’s costs and perks, so he and his staff will re-evaluate those before bringing a recommendation to the City Council for approval or rejection.
While Port Angeles’ council members said little about the prospect of a municipal court, Sequim council member — and retired attorney – Ted Miller asked whether a deadline is approaching for a decision.
State law on establishing such courts does place a deadline at midyear, Ritchie replied.
“So we shouldn’t put this on the back burner,” said Miller.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
