Title
Agenda Item:
Municipal Court/Probation Overview
Body
Issue:
General overview for information and discussion purposes.
Committee Recommendation:
N/A
City Manager's Recommendation:
Briefing Only
Staff Contact:
Maryam Olson, Court Administrator, 360.709.2783
Presenter(s):
Municipal Court Judge Scott Ahlf
Court Administrator Maryam Olson
Probation Services Supervisor
Background and Analysis:
The primary core service of the Olympia Municipal Court is to provide objective, accessible and timely resolution of all cases litigated before the Court, the protection of the rights of all individuals, and the dignified and fair treatment of all parties. In order to do this, the court must provide solid case management, extraordinary probation supervision and alternatives to incarceration (Options) programs to help with jail population management.
The Court and the probation department consist of the Judge - Scott Ahlf, the Court Administrator - Maryam Olson, the Probation Services Supervisor - Monica Schneider, and 7 court staff and 5 probation staff.
Olympia Municipal Court is a limited jurisdiction court - which means we only have jurisdiction over gross misdemeanors, misdemeanors and infractions. Misdemeanors carry a maximum sentence of 90 days jail and $1000 fine. Examples of these charges are: Driving While License Suspended 3rd/Neg Driving 1st/Criminal Trespass. Gross Misdemeanors carry a maximum penalty of 365 days jail and $5000 fine - examples are DUI/Assault/Theft 3rd (not exceed $750)/MIP. We do not accept felony, juvenile, civil or small claims cases. As with district courts, we can issue domestic violence no-contact orders. We handled an average of 2200 criminal citations and 2300 traffic violations in 2012 as well as over 30,000 parking citations.
In the last year, Olympia Municipal Court has undergone many changes - one of which was acquiring the parking management module. One FTE was required to maintain the p...
Click here for full text