Courts

In response to the federal, state, and local declarations resulting from the rapidly progressing COVID-19 situation, the Spokane Municipal Court has issued the following Emergency Orders:

• Spokane Municipal Court Emergency Order 2020-13 Public Safety (PDF 167 KB)
• Spokane Municipal Court Emergency Order 2020-12 COVID-19 Transmission Prevention (PDF 87 KB)
• Spokane Municipal Court Emergency Order 2020-017 Administrative Matters (PDF 191 KB)
• Spokane Municipal Court Emergency Order 2021-01 Criminal Matters (PDF 176 KB)
• Spokane Municipal Court Emergency Order 2020-16 Probation Operations (PDF 207 KB)
• Spokane Municipal Court Emergency Order 2021-02 Civil Infractions (PDF 192 KB)

1. Request to Appear by Video
   In an effort to promote social distancing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Spokane Municipal Court is reviewing requests to appear by video on a case-by-case basis. Please see the documents below detailing the process:
   1. Request to Appear via Video Conference (2021-02-01) (PDF 131 KB)
   2. Zoom Instruction and Protocol Sheet (2020-11-17) (PDF 119 KB)
      
      Requests by the defendant to appear by video for any of the following hearings will not be authorized:
      • Bench Warrant Recall Motions
      • Contested Infractions
      • DUI or Domestic Violence Arraignments
      • Jury Readiness
      • Show Cause
      • Trial
2. Bench Warrants
   1. Bench warrants will continue to issue for violations of pretrial release conditions or to reduce the risk to public safety.
3. Appointment of Counsel at Public Expense
   1. All individuals who are in custody and charged with gross misdemeanor and misdemeanor offenses will be provisionally appointed an attorney at no expense under the provisions of RCW 10.101.020(4), because of the suspension of in custody indigency screenings by the Court. This provisional appointment of counsel will automatically lapse fifteen days following release from custody. As such, it is important to obtain an indigency screening at the Municipal Probation Department within 15 days of your release.
      1. Probation Contact Information:
         1. Website Link: https://my.spokanecity.org/courts/probation/
         2. Telephone No: 509.622.5880
      2. Public Defender Contact Information:
         1. Website Link: https://my.spokanecity.org/courts/public-defender/
         2. Telephone No: 509.835.5955
   2. Want to use your own lawyer?
      1. Defendants are entirely free to retain private legal counsel and are encouraged to do so. Once a private attorney formally appears on any case, the provisional appointment will automatically terminate and the private attorney will immediately become the defendant’s attorney of record.
4. Scheduling of Future Hearings
   1. Motions:
      1. Motions to Recall/Modify No Contact Orders and to Recall/Quash Warrants and responses thereto may be filed as normal.
      2. Suppression motions may be filed, and hearings thereon may be set and heard at the discretion of, and in the manner determined by, the judge to whom the matter is before.
   2. Trials:
      1. No more than one trial per week will be heard during the current Emergency Order
      2. All trials will be held in Courtroom A
   3. Jail Release Docket:
      1. The jail release docket is suspended.
5. Synopsis of procedural changes for civil infractions and towing and impound cases under Emergency Order 2020-18:
   1. Contested Infraction Hearings:
      1. By-mail contested infraction hearings and in-person contested infraction hearings will be considered as normal.
   2. Mitigation Hearings
      1. All in-person mitigation hearings will be converted to by-mail mitigations.
      2. Mitigations via mail will continue to be reviewed as normal, with written decisions mailed to the defendant.
      3. Mitigations can be completed by the clerks at the Spokane Municipal Court Clerk’s Office, with no need for additional mailings or appearances.
   3. Infraction Motion Hearings
      1. All infraction motions will be done in chambers, with no oral argument, and be decided on the pleadings on file with the Court.
         1. A written decision will be mailed to the parties.
   4. Vehicle Impounds
      1. Vehicles Currently Impounded
         1. Hearings on vehicle impounds, where the vehicle is currently impounded will be heard as normal.
6. Synopsis of procedural changes for administrative matters under Emergency Order 2020-17.
   1. E-FILE System – Emergency
      1. Court has adopted an emergency ad hoc email based filing system
      2. Instructions available here, or at the Spokane Municipal Court counter.