Bellingham Municipal Court Information

The mission of the Bellingham Municipal Court is to administer the operations of the judicial branch of City government in a neutral and effective manner and ensure access to justice for all citizens. ~ Judge Debra Lev

Types of cases
Jurisdiction
Judicial officers
Court programs
Court rules
Court schedule

Types of Cases

The most common criminal cases heard in the Bellingham Municipal Court include assault, malicious mischief, theft, driving under the influence of intoxicants (“D.U.I.”), trespassing, violation of protective orders, driving with a suspended license, disorderly conduct, and minor in possession or consumption of alcohol. Many of the Court’s cases involve domestic violence. The Court also hears thousands of civil infractions, primarily involving traffic and parking violations, each year.

Jurisdiction

The Bellingham Municipal Court has jurisdiction over violations of the Bellingham Municipal Code, including both criminal matters and civil infractions, committed in the City of Bellingham. The Court also has appellate jurisdiction over impoundment decisions of the City’s Hearings Examiner. The Whatcom County Superior Court has jurisdiction over felonies committed within the City of Bellingham.

Judicial Officers

Judge Debra Lev
Judge Lev became Bellingham’s first elected Municipal Court Judge in January, 2002. She previously served as the Court’s Commissioner for four years. Judge Lev has also managed a private law firm and served as a Deputy District Attorney. She has lived and practiced law in the Bellingham area since 1990. Judge Lev received a degree in Communications from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and graduated from Stetson University’s College of Law.

Commissioner Pete Smiley
Commissioner Smiley was appointed by Judge Lev in January, 2003. Commissioner Smiley previously served as an Assistant City Attorney, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, and Assistant Attorney General for the State of Washington. He was raised in Bellingham, and graduated from Sehome High School. Commissioner Smiley received a degree in Government from Cornell University and graduated from Cornell Law School.

Judges Pro Tem
Judges pro tem are appointed by Judge Lev to serve as substitute judges. Judges Pro Tem for the Bellingham Municipal Court include:

Michael Bobbink, the presiding Judge of the Blaine, Sumas, and Everson-Nooksack Municipal Courts, Hearings Examiner for Whatcom and Island Counties, and former Bellingham Municipal Court Judge
Peter Dworkin, a local attorney in private practice
Terry Lewis, a local attorney in private practice and the presiding Judge of the Ferndale and Lynden Municipal Courts
Michael Moynihan, a local attorney in private practice, a former Bellingham Municipal Court Judge, and a retired Whatcom County Superior Court Judge
Carl Munson, a local attorney in private practice
David Nelson, a local attorney in private practice
Jeffery Solomon, a local attorney in private practice
Dawn Sturwold, Bellingham’s Hearings Examiner

Court Programs

Domestic Violence Court

Domestic Violence (DV) Court is the first of its kind in northwest Washington.
It focuses all community resources on domestic violence cases, the most difficult cases in Municipal Court.
Victims, defendants, attorneys, treatment providers, probation officers, and law enforcement officers all participate in a multi-disciplinary approach to help solve complicated issues in domestic violence cases.
Probation officers report better compliance by convicted offenders in DV Court.
Emphasis is placed on close judicial supervision of convicted domestic violence batterers to ensure accountability, enforce treatment requirements, and protect victims.
DV Court is now being studied by other interested courts as a model to set up similar programs.

Warrant Surrender Policy

Coordinated efforts with law enforcement authorizing police officers to bring defendants with arrest warrants directly to court to have their cases heard, rather than release on promise to appear.
Reduces jail costs (approx. $45,000/year) by avoiding unnecessary booking in most cases.
Promotes public safety by booking the most potentially dangerous offenders regardless of jail overcrowding problems.

Volunteer Courtesy Call

Volunteers call to remind citizens of their upcoming court hearings.
Increases timely appearance in court while reducing warrant and jail costs.
Saves citizens who would have failed to appear $100 warrant fee in criminal cases and $52 late fee on civil infractions.

Alternatives to Incarceration

Court allows most non-violent offenders to perform community service in lieu of jail.
Court, at its discretion, allows most offenders to use jail alternative programs such as work crew to reduce jail costs (by approximately $32/bed day) and jail overcrowding.

Deferred Findings

Court permits citizens to defer findings on their traffic infractions in exchange for payment of court costs and good driving behavior.
Reduces insurance costs for citizens, increases revenues for City, and promotes safer driving.

Proactive Compliance Reviews

Focusing use of probation services and implementing frequent compliance/status court reviews to reduce probation bill and increase compliance with probation conditions.
Estimated annual savings of $30,000

Court Rules

Before you enter a courtroom please follow these simple expectations: no food or drinks are permitted in the courtroom, remove hats, remove gum, turn off cell phones and pagers, keep feet off the furniture, rails, or benches. Proper attire is appreciated. Please be on time and be courteous to other participants while waiting for your case to be called. If possible, please try to arrange for child-care outside of court for any infants or young children.

There are two courtrooms in the Bellingham Municipal Court Building. Courtroom One is the large courtroom on the ground floor. Courtroom Two is the smaller courtroom on the second floor. The bulletin board near the public entrance indicates which courtroom will be used for each case. Additionally, in-custody cases are typically heard at the Whatcom County Jail’s courtroom starting at 8:30 a.m. weekdays. Victims and other parties who are interested in watching the in-custody cases may do so via two-way closed circuit television from the In-Custody Viewing Room on the basement floor of the Whatcom County Courthouse at 311 Grand Avenue.

It is not necessary to check in at the clerk’s window before your case is called. However, the clerk’s window, located on the ground floor near the public entrance to the Bellingham Municipal Court Building, is available for people who would like to ask questions, file pleadings including applications for the appointment of assigned counsel, or to arrange or make payments.

If you are unable to attend a scheduled court session or are unsure of the scheduled time or date for your hearing, please contact the court clerks at the Municipal Court as soon as possible. Failure to appear in court for a required appearance typically results in the issuance of a bench (arrest) warrant in criminal cases and a finding of “committed” in infraction cases.

Court Schedule

The Bellingham Municipal Court currently holds seventeen regular court sessions, or calendars, each week. Fourteen calendars feature criminal cases while three are dedicated to infractions. The Court hears in-custody cases every weekday at the Whatcom County Jail. All other cases are heard at the Bellingham Municipal Court Building. The Court holds out-of-custody arraignments three times each week. The Court has three dedicated infraction calendars each week. The Court hears pretrial conferences, readiness hearings, bench trials, and motion hearings in criminal cases four afternoons each week. Jury trials begin on Tuesday mornings. On Thursday afternoons, the Court has a dedicated court session for domestic violence cases, from pretrial conferences to probation matters.

Weekly Schedule

Start Time	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri
8:30 a.m.	Jail	Jail	Jail	Jail	Jail
9:00 a.m.		Jury Trial
9:30 a.m.		Traffic
9:45 a.m.	Arraignments			Arraignments	Arraignments
1:30 p.m.	Pre-trial	Pre-trial	Traffic / Probation	Domestic Violence	Traffic
2:30 p.m.				Motions