Drafter
Clerk 06/08/2023
Title
AN ORDINANCE relating to the organization of the executive branch and assignment of administrative duties and responsibilities; amending Ordinance 12075, Section 3, as amended, and K.C.C. 2.16.025 and repealing Ordinance 18652, Section 2, and K.C.C. 2.60.052.
Body
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. Findings:
A. In King County, inquests serve a public function of determining the cause and circumstances of a death involving a member of a law enforcement agency in the performance of the member's duties. The findings of an inquest help the public, family members of decedents, and policy makers understand the causes and circumstances of the decedent's death. The inquest process is a formal legal proceeding, involving discovery of evidence and examining of witnesses, including law enforcement personnel and experts.
B. There is a public benefit in providing publicly financed legal counsel to families of the decedents wishing to fully participate in the inquest process, including all families to fully and equitably participate in the inquest process regardless of financial means. Public financing of legal counsel for all families of decedents will better ensure each party to an inquest will have equal opportunity to participate. Increasing such participation will bolster the transparency of the inquest process, thus furthering the recognized public function of an inquest.
C. Under K.C.C. 2.35A.090.B., the authority to hold inquests is vested in the executive. Inherent in that authority should be the ability for the executive to allow for a fuller participation in an inquest by the family of the decedent, regardless of the family's financial means.
SECTION 2. Ordinance 12075, Section 3, as amended, and K.C.C. 2.16.025 are hereby amended to read as follows:
A. The county executive shall manage and be fiscally accountable for the office of performance, strategy, and budget, the office of labor relati...
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