2008 Budget Book - Kitsap County Government

Law & Justice - Courts
District Court
Purpose:
District Court provides justice for all court participants, thus instilling public trust and confidence that the
court is fair, effective and efficient without compromising due process.
The court has jurisdiction and venue over the following proceedings:
• Felony – fugitive from justice and felony diversion cases
• Misdemeanor and Gross Misdemeanor Offenses
• Civil Cases – up to $50,000
• Small Claims – up to $4,000
• Unlawful Harassment – for adult respondents
• Name Changes
• Impound Hearings
• Infractions – traffic and non-traffic
District Court provides justice by:
• Being open and accessible to all litigants, defendants and other court users.
• Providing due process and individual attention to each case.
• Providing prompt and efficient resolution of disputes.
• Ensuring that court decisions and actions are consistent with established rules and laws.
• Enforcing the court’s orders via probation services.
• Maintaining independence and parity with the legislative and executive branches of government.
• Ensuring that the court’s personnel practices and decisions reflect high standards of personal
integrity and compliance among court staff.
Probation Services:
• Performs post sentencing risk assessments to determine the appropriate level of defendant
monitoring
• Monitors all criminal defendants’ compliance with court orders.
• Maintains expertise in community resources and uses such expertise to refer defendants to
appropriate treatment and assistance programs.
• Assists all defendants applying for deferred prosecutions with the statutory requirements as well
as treatment resources.
• Facilitates the transfer of supervision for defendants wishing to relocate to another state, via the
Interstate Compact on Adult Offender Supervision.
• Provides monitoring to all felony DUI diversion defendants who otherwise would be serving time
in the Washington State correction facilities.
• Screens all victims of domestic violence who request the rescission of no contact orders in
District and Superior Courts.
• Screens all defendants’ requests for removal of ignition interlock devices from their automobiles,
when court ordered as a result of a DUI.
2007 Accomplishments:
• The completion of the re-engineering and re-organization of District Court administrative and
probation services.
• The completion of the regionalization project designed to evaluate the plausibility of joining
municipal and district courts in Kitsap County and/or coordinating court services in consolidated
court sites.
• The update of the District Court Pro Tem Judge instructional manual.
• The update of the court’s policy and procedure manual.
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