
Municipal 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.
Lunch Court
- Court scheduled infraction calendars to allow citizens to have traffic
infractions and other minor offenses heard during their lunch hours.
- Popular option for working drivers, who don’t have to sacrifice work
time to have their day in court.
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
Adjudications by Mail
- Permits out-of-town defendants to have their infractions heard by
mail.
- Reduces unnecessary driving on local roads and reduces court
congestion.
Community Education and Outreach
- Award-winning Law Day programs teach hundreds of local middle school
students about the law, courts, and their community each year. Program
received the Community Partnership Award from the Bellingham School
District in 2005.
- Teen driving video encourages safer, more responsible driving by area
teens using BTV Channel 10.
- Educational training programs concerning domestic violence and other
topics for the public, attorneys, law enforcement, and staff are
frequently hosted and co-sponsored by the Court to improve quality of
response. Recent programs have been approved by the Washington State Bar
Association for continuing legal education credits.
- Whatcom County Judicial Response to Domestic Violence Committee
includes Bellingham Municipal Court Judge and Commissioner as members,
working to improve response to domestic violence by all area courts.