Courts

Record Requests

Policy of the Court

Spokane Municipal Court is committed to openness, transparency, and providing reasonable access to court records and administrative records in response to public records requests. We respond to requests in accordance with Washington State Court Rules, applicable Washington State and Federal statutes, and court policy.

Administrative Court/Judicial Records

An administrative court record is any writing or other recorded information related to the management of a court or judicial branch agency, its transaction of public business, or the performance of its administrative governmental functions. A judicial administrative record is a public record created by or maintained by a court or judicial agency that is related to the management, supervision, or administration of the court or judicial agency.

Access to Administrative Court Records under General Rule 31.1

Effective January 1, 2016, General Rule 31.1: Access to Administrative Records:

Confirms the right of the public to examine judicial branch administrative records created on or after January 1, 2016.
Establishes procedures for requesting records and guidelines for those responding to requests.

How to Make a Request for Administrative Court or Judicial Records

Requests for administrative records must be made in writing and be submitted to the Records Officer using the Court's Request for Administrative Records form (PDF 237 KB).

Requests for Administrative Records Forms may be submitted in person to the Municipal Court public counter or by mail or email to:

Spokane Municipal Court
Records Officer
Email: mcrecords@spokanecity.org

Mailing Address:
Spokane Municipal Court
1100 W. Mallon Ave
Spokane, WA 99260
ATT: Administrative Records Request

In most cases, the Records Officer will send you a response within five business days of submitting your request. The response will acknowledge your request with a Request ID number and one or more of the following:

Requested records provided.
Anticipated date of arrival.
Expected costs required to proceed.
Further clarification required.
Explanation for non-disclosable records.

As part of your records request, Spokane Municipal Court is unable to:

Answer questions involving general research or compiling of information.
Perform legal research.
Create a record if a record does not currently exist.

Exemptions to GR.31

Before submitting your request, please review Records Disclosure Exemptions to understand which records are specifically exempted under court rule, statute, or case law.

Certain administrative records cannot be disclosed if prohibited under GR 31.1, or other court rules, federal statutes, state statutes, court orders, or case law. For records that are not entirely exempt, non-disclosable information will be redacted. If all or part of a judicial administrative record is non-disclosable, you will receive written notification explaining why.

Costs and Fees

In an attempt to defray costs associated with records requests, Spokane Municipal Court will charge for time required to locate, obtain, or prepare records for requests that require over one hour of direct staff time. Fees for scanning or copying records are in accordance with the Court’s published Fee Schedule. Please refer to the rates on our Payments page.

If your request for records is expected to incur costs, you will be notified in advance. Payment is required before your request will be fulfilled.

Appeal a Decision

If you disagree with the decision that the record you requested cannot be disclosed or has been redacted, you may choose to request a review of the decision. Requests for review must be submitted within 90 days of the Records Officer's decision.

Internal Review

To request an internal review, complete and submit a Request for Review form within 90 days of the Records Officer's decision. (PDF 1.2 MB)

The record will be reviewed by the Spokane Municipal Court Presiding Judge or designee. In most cases, you will receive a response within five business days from the date the request for review was received or the earliest practical date that the Judge or designee can review your appeal.

External Review

If you are not satisfied with the decision of the internal reviews, you may choose one of the following options for an external review:

File a civil action in Superior Court to challenge the records decision.
Request an informal review by a visiting judge, delegated by the Presiding Judge.

This request must be submitted within 30 days of the response from the first review.

Requests for Court Records

Court records related to a judicial proceeding may be requested using the Request for Court Records form. (PDF 240 KB)

This form may be submitted by email or mail to:

Mailing Address:
Spokane Municipal Court
1100 W. Mallon Ave
Spokane, WA 99260
ATT: Court Records Request
Email Address: mcrecords@spokanecity.org

Requests for Data

Requests for bulk court records and information from the court's Municipal Court Information System may be requested using the Data Dissemination Agreement. (PDF 226 KB)

Proposed Data Dissemination Agreements may be submitted by email or mail to:

Mailing Address:
Spokane Municipal Court
1100 W. Mallon Ave
Spokane, WA 99260
ATT: Court Records Request
Email Address: mcrecords@spokanecity.org