Drafter
Clerk 09/12/2007
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AN ORDINANCE approving the District Court Facility Master Plan.
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STATEMENT OF FACTS:
1. The district court is the county's court of limited jurisdiction and is the largest court of limited jurisdiction in the state.
2. The court has responsibility for traffic infractions, certain civil matters, and misdemeanor criminal offenses in the county's unincorporated areas and in cities that contract with the court. The court also has responsibility for the adjudication of "state" offenses, which include those violations of state statute that occur within the county or when the arresting agency is the Washington State Patrol.
3. The requirements and structure of the district court are contained in state statute, county code, and are also governed by court rules. State law empowers the local county legislative authority with significant flexibility in the development of the court's jurisdictional structure.
4. K.C.C. 4.04.200 establishes the processes for operational and facilities master planning efforts that include current and future workload assumptions.
5. Ordinance 8935, Section 3, now codified as K.C.C. 2.68.005 and formerly K.C.C. 2.68.060, adopted in 1989, established a single, unified, countywide district court.
6. Ordinance 11578, adopted in 1994, established the policy for the regional provision of district court services through an operational master plan pursuant to K.C.C. 4.04.200.
7. Ordinance 14430, adopted in 2002, gave the council's approval to the Adult Justice Operational Master Plan, establishing county policies for the use of secure detention capacity and emphasizing system and process efficiencies for both the superior and district courts that would reduce the utilization of jail and reduce overall criminal justice expenditures.
8. Ordinance 14797 required that the executive and district court develop an updated and comprehensive operational master plan.
9. Ordinance 15195, adopted in 2...
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