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 On Thursday, November 8, 2007 an appeals court ruled that Spokane County District Court judges have been overstepping their authority for more than ten years. The reason behind the ruling? Because the judges were elected by residents of both Spokane and Spokane County. An agreement between the City of Spokane and Spokane County allowed District Court judges (elected through countywide elections) to be assigned to preside over cases heard in the city's municipal court. However, Washington state law mandates that only residents living within the city limits of Spokane can elect judges who handle municipal cases like speeding, domestic violence assault, restraining order issuance, and DUI within city limits.
This appeals court decision has already overturned two DUI convictions and now could trigger who knows how many more conviction reversals on cases that were heard in municipal court between1995 to 2006. Specifically, the ruling applies to municipal court actions from January 1, 1995 to December 31, 2006. Anyone with questions about whether they are affected should call the district court administrator at 509.477.4463.
Along with the conviction reversals, of course, come nightmarish scenarios of paperwork that would have to be corrected, paid fines that would have to be refunded, and even drivers' licenses that would have to be reinstated. To give you an idea of the volume, according to an article published in The Spokesman-Review on Friday, November 9, in 2006 the Spokane Municipal Court handled 25,104 traffic tickets, 608 DUIs and more than 10,000 misdemeanor crimes. Suffice it to say that it's probable that not all of these cases would be overturned by the recent ruling -- but it's possible that many of them would.
Unless the appeals court decision is overturned by the Washington Supreme Court, the ruling will stand. Does that mean people charged with those DUIs, speeding tickets or other various crimes were not guilty of those offenses? No. Neither does it spell relief for other offenders who don't "qualify" for conviction reversals for the same crimes. So, will justice really be served if the appeal stands and only certain convictions are overturned? What do you think it will cost local taxpayers if the ruling stands? How long do you think our city will see the effects of this ruling if it stands?
We'd like to know your thoughts and comments on this topic, so email us and we'll post them on Spokane.net. If you don't have time to write, then feel free to vote in our PulsePoll.
From the Editor
Editor@Spokane.net
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Poll Results ...
Question:
"Do you think justice will be served if all Spokane Municipal Court actions between January 1995 and December 2006 are overturned due to the recent appeals court ruling?
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Results:
Yes -- 61.1%
No -- 22.2%
Undecided -- 16.7%
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