October 2009 Meeting Summary

King County Superior Court

By Peter Rimbos, Corresponding Secretary

On Monday, October 5, the Greater Maple Valley Area Council held its regular monthly meeting. Our major topic for discussion was Our Judicial System with King County Superior Court Judge Kimberley Prochnau. Your Area Council serves as an all-volunteer, locally elected advisory body to the King County Council representing all rural unincorporated area residents living in the Tahoma School District.

Area Council Elections and Advisory Issues Survey

In odd-numbered years, the Area Council conducts elections for half of its 16 members (members serve staggered 4-yr terms) and an Advisory Issues Citizens’ Survey to gauge area residents on topics of importance to the rural community. Past surveys have helped the Area Council to understand the sentiments of Rural Area residents and to accurately convey them to local and state elected officials.

In the past local voters would fill out the Area Council Ballots and Citizens’ Survey at the polls (with some voters requesting mail ballots). With King County now using an all-mail ballot the Area Council decided to directly mail ballots to all rural unincorporated area registered voters.

The Area Council finalized questions for this year’s the Citizens’ Survey. There will be a brief set of questions on such topics as Governance, Land-Use, and Transportation. The Ballot and Citizens’ Survey will be on one sheet of paper and will be mailed on or about October 19. The Area Council requests voters to fill out their Ballot and Citizens’ Survey and mail per the instructions that will be provided.

All results will be independently tabulated, verified, and published in the Voice of the Valley and on the Area Council’s web site. Citizens’ Survey results will be provided to the KIng County Executive, the King County Council, and our local State Legislators to provide citizens’ opinions on topics of local importance. The Area Council thanks all rural unincorporated area registered voters in advance for their participation.

Our Judicial System

The Area Council was fortunate to have King County Superior Court Judge Kimberley Prochnau  visit with us to provide a comprehensive summary of how the County’s judicial system operates.

King County Superior Court is a general jurisdiction trial court with responsibility for: civil cases (more than $300), felony criminal cases, family law, guardianship, juvenile offender matters and dependencies, and mental illness. There are 53 elected judges and ~700 staff comprising the 13th largest court jurisdiction in the country which handles more than 60,000 new cases each year. There are three courthouses: King County Courthouse in Seattle, Kent Regional Justice Center (Judge Prochnau is currently assigned here), and the Youth Services Center in Seattle. Overall ~1/3 of the cases are jury trials. More information is available on the King County Superior Court website.

Judge Prochnau described two major volunteer opportunities for interested citizens to help at-risk youth grow up to be productive citizens: CASA and Juvenile Diversion.

A Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) is a volunteer trained to represent the interests of children up to age 11, who might have been abused or neglected, in the legal process. Judge Prochnau described how the court tries to reunite a family when and if conditions at home improve to a sufficient extent as judged by the court.

Juvenile Diversion, conducted through The Partnership for Youth Justice program, tries to apply local solutions to local problems. Volunteers assist youth offenders and their families. Volunteers aided by a court advisor comprise a Community Accountability Board (CAB). Through an interview process the CAB works with offending youth and their parents to develop an accountability plan. The plan is written in the form of a legally binding contract and may require the following actions: community service, classes in skill building, counseling, or fine/restitution. The offending youth signs the contract agreeing to fulfill its terms. A program monitor then provides follow-up to ensure the plan is properly completed. The primary goal of this process is to help young offenders take on personal responsibility for their actions.

Details on volunteer opportunities can be found on the King County site.

Judge Prochnau described the Court’s budget for 2009 and the challenges ahead for 2010 in a down economy. Although the Court does collect some user fees, the majority of its funds come from King County and the State of Washington. There is a continuing concern that the Court may reach a point where further reductions could violate the Court’s mandate to handle all court matters in a timely manner thus ensuring access to justice for King County citizens. Since criminal cases must be tried within a certain timeframe as dictated by the State, with continuing budget reductions and staff cuts, civil and other cases will get delayed for longer periods of time.