‘Emergency situation’ closes Bellingham Municipal Court as judge’s lawsuit moves to Skagit
Bellingham Municipal Court has been closed through the end of the day Tuesday due to an emergency situation that “threatens the safety and welfare of the employees” and makes the court unable to operate.
The Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts received notice that Bellingham Municipal Court would be closed Friday, May 28, through 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 1. The court closures notice states that Washington State Supreme Court General Rule 21 has been enacted.
“Emergency conditions or events have become such that the safety and welfare of the management-level employees are threatened and the court is unable to operate and demands immediate action to protect the court and its management-level employees,” the closure notice states.
General Rule 21, the emergency court closure rule, allows a court to close due to weather, technological failure or other hazardous or emergency conditions or events that threaten the safety and well-being of staff and employees and prevent the court from operating. It says the closure may be ordered by the presiding judge of the court.
The emergency closure comes just days after Bellingham Municipal Court Judge Debra Lev filed a lawsuit in Whatcom County Superior Court against the city of Bellingham and Mayor Seth Fleetwood alleging that the city’s investigations into court working conditions have violated the separation of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government, and after six court employees walked off the job Thursday, May 27, alleging intolerable working conditions.
Lev’s lawsuit was moved to Skagit County late Tuesday after the attorneys were notified Whatcom County judges had endorsed Lev in her upcoming re-election campaign.
The court closure was enacted by Lev out of concern for Bellingham Municipal Court employees who were still working in the building, according to Judge Rebecca Robertson, co-chair of the state District and Municipal Court Judges’ Association Council on Independent Courts and a Federal Way Municipal Court Judge.
Roberston said in an interview with The Bellingham Herald Tuesday that Lev was concerned the remaining court employees would potentially be arrested or retaliated against by the executive branch. Roberston said the employees have been asked to participate in the city’s investigation but were advised not to due to a state rule regarding who oversees the court.
Because several other court employees have walked off the job, Lev is also almost unable to conduct court because there aren’t enough staff to hold hearings or process paperwork, Robertson said.
Other members of the District and Municipal Court Managers Association will be volunteering their time to work in Bellingham Municipal Court so it can continue operating and hearings can be held, Robertson said.
Employees from Seattle Municipal Court, Lynwood and Tukwila will be helping and volunteering their time, Roberston said. Their travel expenses will be paid for by the state District and Municipal Court Judges Association Managers Association.
Roberston said employees will volunteer their time to go into another court from time to time, such as when multiple court employees are sick or something unexpected happens.
“We have not heard of a situation as egregious as this before. There are other issues about judicial independence and executive overreach that we’ve handled before, but this is incredibly unusual,” Robertson said. “I want the public to know any allegations of workplace issues are taken seriously, but there is a proper way to go about the investigation in respect to the separation of powers.”
The lawsuit and walk-off
Lev’s lawsuit states that both Bellingham’s city ordinance and the Washington State Supreme Court General Rule 29 state that the presiding judge has general administrative supervision over judicial branch employees when it comes to things like working conditions, hiring, discipline and termination decisions. The state Supreme Court rule says the powers of a presiding judge can’t be delegated to someone in the legislative or executive branch, according to Superior Court records.
According to the lawsuit, the city began investigating complaints about “working conditions” at the municipal court in April 2021 and hired an outside attorney to investigate them. The city then placed two employees on paid administrative leave and disabled their access to their computer workstations and accounts, the court records show.
Lev, as well as the state District and Municipal Court Judges’ Association, informed the city and Fleetwood that the city’s actions were violating the state rule and separation of powers.
Lev is seeking a judgment that declares her status as the sole supervising authority over municipal court personnel, as well as a permanent injunction barring the city and Fleetwood from forcing municipal court employees to comply with disciplinary investigations and the city and Fleetwood from taking disciplinary action against municipal court personnel without approval from the municipal court presiding judge, the court records show.
The city maintains that its actions don’t interfere with the independent judicial proceedings or core functions, and that the city administration is investigating allegations “of serious misconduct and mismanagement at the Bellingham Municipal Court,” according to a statement provided Friday, May 28, by Fleetwood.
Fleetwood’s statement said the potential allegations include violations of state law, city policies and that employees allege a toxic workplace “built on bullying, fear and intimidation.” Lev is one of three employees who are the subjects of the investigation, court records show.
In Fleetwood’s statement, he said there are allegations that Lev failed “to keep her house in order” and that the investigation is ongoing. He said no conclusions have been reached.
Six of the seven court employees, which includes court clerks and administrative personnel and who are represented by the Guild of Pacific Northwest Employees, walked off the job Thursday, May 27, due to what their union representative says are intolerable working conditions.
There is a multitude of allegations the union is concerned about, such as violations of labor law, judicial misconduct, violations of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, and potential discrimination, according to Dean Tharp, the union representative.
Tharp said employees brought their concerns forward to the union and the city, which then began investigating the concerns. Tharp said one employee quit recently, while another has threatened to quit and two others have said they are seeking different jobs due to the situation.
An independent investigation
The appropriate route with any complaints regarding working conditions would have been to bring them to Lev herself, and then notify the state Commission on Judicial Conduct, said Robertson, the state District and Municipal Court Judges Association co-chair.
Roberston said Lev was never notified of the complaints, that the union never came to her with them and Fleetwood didn’t tell her what the complaints were regarding. Robertson said Lev and the state judges association found out specifics about the complaints from The Herald’s first story last week regarding the situation.
Robertson said Lev has contacted the state Commission on Judicial Conduct to conduct an independent investigation. It’s the commission’s duty to investigate the situation and allegations.
“What should have happened is Lev should have been given the opportunity to investigate and the Commission on Judicial Conduct should have been notified. For the executive branch to launch an investigation into a separate branch of government is an infringement on the separation of powers,” Robertson said.
The Bellingham Herald has reached out to the Administrative Office of the Courts, Lev and the state Commission on Judicial Conduct for comment and more information.
Lawsuit update
Lev’s lawsuit against the city and Fleetwood was moved to Skagit County Superior Court late Tuesday, Whatcom County Superior Court documents show.
The case had been assigned to Whatcom County Superior Court Judge Lee Grochmal. In a letter sent Friday to Lev’s attorney, Grochmal said the state Commission on Judicial Conduct rules required her to disclose to the city that she recently endorsed Lev in her upcoming election campaign.
Grochmal offered the city the opportunity to ask that she recuse, or remove, herself from hearing the case.
In Grochmal’s letter, it states that the three other Superior Court judges in Whatcom County agree with her position and would make the same offer if the case were assigned to them. The three other Superior Court judges have also endorsed Lev in her re-election bid, court records show.
On Tuesday afternoon, Whatcom County Superior Court Administrator Dave Reynolds informed both Lev’s and the city’s attorneys that all four of Whatcom County’s Superior Court judges had either recused themselves or had affidavits of prejudice filed against them, barring them from hearing the case, court documents state.
Reynolds’ letter stated a Skagit County Superior Court judge would now be hearing the case. Motion hearings will take place in Skagit County Superior Court, but the trial will be heard in Whatcom County Superior Court with a visiting judge traveling to the county to preside, the records state.
In addition, Lev’s attorney filed a motion late Friday, May 28, for an immediate temporary injunction to stop the city and Fleetwood’s investigation into the working conditions at the municipal court, the court records show. In the motion, Lev’s attorney argues that the city and mayor’s actions have interfered with the “judiciary’s sole authority to select and supervise its own employees,” and that “An emergency, temporary injunction is warranted to prevent immediate harm,” the records state.
Lev is running unopposed this fall for another four-year term as the city’s only Municipal Court judge. She became Bellingham’s first elected Municipal Court judge in 2002, according to the city’s website. She previously served as the court’s commissioner for four years and practiced law in the Bellingham area since 1990, including serving as a deputy district attorney.
This story was originally published June 1, 2021 at 1:36 PM.
