The Seattle Municipal Court judges, in an effort to work collaboratively, have agreed to the Seattle City Attorney’s proposed changes to Seattle Community Court. The City Attorney requested that certain individuals they have identified as ‘high utilizers’ be excluded from participating in the program. The Community Court agreement already provided… [ Keep reading ]
In 2020, Seattle Municipal Court (SMC) started redesigning our approach to probation. This effort is a result of stakeholder and community feedback and our desire to eliminate disproportionate impacts. We used findings and recommendations in the 2020 Vera Institute of Justice Probation Services report and the 2021 City Auditor’s assessment… [ Keep reading ]
Seattle Municipal Court now offers ticket debt reduction hearings for people who can’t afford to pay their debt from Seattle parking, traffic, or camera tickets. You are eligible if you are: Low income Have debt from parking, traffic, or camera infraction tickets in Seattle Municipal Court that you can’t afford to… [ Keep reading ]
In response to Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison’s April 27, 2022 letter to the Seattle Municipal Court judges, the court issued the following statement: Seattle Municipal Court remains committed to collaborating with the Seattle City Attorney’s Office and the King County Department of Public Defense to ensure a viable Seattle… [ Keep reading ]
We received notice that a party claiming to be a Seattle Municipal Court Marshal is calling residents about court warrants and requesting money. If you receive a call like this, it is a scam. SMC Marshals will never call you about a warrant or to request money. Information on how… [ Keep reading ]
Seattle Municipal Court (SMC) judges have ruled that the court will suppress all blood toxicology results for amphetamine and methamphetamine if the tests were conducted by the Washington State Toxicology Lab (“Tox Lab”) in its Main Lab or the Annex between March 2018 and October 2021. This ruling (PDF) does… [ Keep reading ]
Starting February 3, 2022, Seattle Municipal Court will offer hearings for people who are low-income and can’t afford to pay their debt from overdue Seattle parking, traffic, or camera tickets. These hearings are an opportunity for people with ticket debt to speak with a court magistrate to request to reduce… [ Keep reading ]
Seattle Municipal Court Presiding Judge Willie Gregory recently granted several motions from the Seattle City Attorney’s Office: the first to quash bench warrants, close, and dismiss 37 outstanding Prostitution cases; the others to quash bench warrants, close, and dismiss a total of 73 outstanding Driving While License Suspended in the… [ Keep reading ]
The Seattle Municipal Court (SMC) thanks the Office of the City Auditor (OCA) for its thorough and thoughtful review of SMC Probation, a post-adjudication jail alternative in which counselors are paired with clients to support them as they meet court-ordered obligations. SMC participated in OCA’s assessment, released earlier today, with… [ Keep reading ]
Last summer, Seattle Municipal Court (SMC) published an evaluation of our Probation Services department commissioned from the Vera Institute of Justice. With it, we made a commitment to our clients, stakeholders, and community to evolve our approach to probation and address racial and gender disparities. We have embraced the principles outlined in… [ Keep reading ]
