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, including two hearings each week at 12:15 p.m., known informally as “lunch court,” which were designed for the convenience of the working public. 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.
Start Time |
Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8:30 a.m. | Jail | Jail | Jail | Jail | Jail |
| 9:00 a.m. | Traffic / Jury Trial | ||||
| 9:45 a.m. | Arraignments | Arraignments | Arraignments | ||
| 12:15 p.m. | Traffic | Traffic | |||
| 1:30 p.m. | Pre-trial | Pre-trial | Probation | Domestic Violence | |
| 2:30 p.m. | Motions |
