City plans for court system by summer

The city of Spokane will try to set up its own Municipal Court Department by next summer, Mayor Mary Verner said Friday.

Judges will be appointed at first by city officials, then elected by city voters in 2010, in an attempt to address a recent court ruling that voided a conviction in a city misdemeanor case because the judge was elected by voters throughout the county, not just those in the city.

“This reorganization makes a legislative correction that will bring the Municipal Court into compliance with state law and improve the overall quality of criminal justice services delivered by the city to our citizens,” Verner said.

The Spokane City Council will be asked to consider a petition to establish a Municipal Court Department at a special meeting at 4 p.m. Thursday. If the council approves the petition, it will be forwarded to the Spokane County Commission for its consideration, a press release issued late Friday afternoon by the mayor’s office said.

The city and county already have a Criminal Justice Cooperating Group to improve communication and use “best practices” in the criminal justice system, the news release said.

For nearly two months, the city has faced a serious problem with the judges who handled its misdemeanor cases through last Jan. 1. That’s because in early November a state Court of Appeals ruled that Spokane County District Court judges didn’t have the authority to hear city cases. A state law dating back to 1995 required municipal judges to be selected by city voters; district judges are elected countywide but have handled city cases under an agreement with the city.

The appeals court’s ruling had the potential to invalidate every city conviction for driving under the influence, domestic violence and other misdemeanors – even contested speeding and parking tickets – during that 11-year period.

One of Verner’s predecessors, Mayor Jim West, had tried to set up an independent municipal court system in 2004, arguing it would save money and comply with the law. Members of the District Court, especially Presiding Judge Mike Padden, disagreed and argued in meetings the combined court system was more efficient, meeting records show. At one point, in 2005, the city took the county to court in a case that went to the state Supreme Court. In November 2006, the state’s highest court said creation of a municipal court is a legislative function, so it would have to be done by the City Council, not the mayor.

At that point, the city was unable to meet timelines for serving notice that it was establishing its own municipal court, and it didn’t have space rented for courtrooms, so it continued to contract with the county while discussions continued on an independent municipal court.

But while the city and county were in court, defense attorneys in two criminal cases challenged their clients’ convictions on the grounds the judge was never elected or selected by city voters and didn’t have the jurisdiction to pass a sentence. Those two appeals were upheld last month, but an effort to have about two dozen other city defendants released because their sentences, too, came from district court judges was denied.

District Court Judge Vance Peterson said the request to release the defendants was premature: “If we don’t have the jurisdiction to put them in jail, how do we have the jurisdiction to take them out?”

City Attorney Jim Craven said Friday the number of municipal judges Spokane will need has not yet been determined, but he estimated it would be three or four. Details of their appointments have yet to be worked out, but Craven said he expected Verner would do it in close consultation with the City Council.

The appointees apparently would serve until the November 2010 election, which is the next scheduled election for district and municipal judges.