Bellingham City Council votes to create ‘back-up plan’ if it terminates Municipal Court
Bellingham will begin negotiations with Whatcom County for court services, in case the City Council chooses to close the Bellingham Municipal Court.
At its Monday night meeting June 21, the City Council voted 6 to 1 to direct city administration to start negotiations with the county to create an inter-local agreement for the city to pay “the county a reasonable amount for costs associated with prosecution, adjudication, and sentencing in criminal cases” filed in Whatcom County District Court. The action was taken so the city “is poised to act” if the city council adopts an ordinance terminating the city’s municipal court, according to council records. Only Council member Hannah Stone voted no.
“I never thought we’d get here and I hope we actually don’t ever get here. The way we discussed this is we need to have contingency plans in place to make sure that people get their day in court in a timely and speedy basis,” Council member Michael Lilliquist said during Monday’s meeting. “I hope we never have to pull the trigger on this backup plan, but these things take a long time and so that’s why I’m voting in favor of us making sure we do all the planning we can now just in case.”
The Council’s move comes after Bellingham Municipal Court Judge Debra Lev filed a lawsuit in Whatcom County Superior Court against Bellingham Mayor Seth Fleetwood and the city May 27, alleging that their investigations of court working conditions violated the separation of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government.
Six court employees represented by a union also walked off the job in late May alleging intolerable working conditions. The walk-off and escalating situation led to an emergency closure of the city’s municipal court May 28 to June 1.
The union representing the municipal court employees who walked off the job has filed an unfair labor practice complaint alleging multiple state law violations, a grievance alleging multiple issues, a discrimination complaint with the city of Bellingham and a complaint with the Washington State Commission on Judicial Conduct.
An independent investigation commissioned by the city and mayor that was conducted without participation from Lev and other management members at the municipal court found evidence that supports the employees’ claims of labor law violations and a toxic work environment.
The Bellingham Municipal Court has jurisdiction over violations of the Bellingham Municipal Code, including misdemeanor criminal charges and civil infractions. The most common cases include assault, malicious mischief, theft, driving under the influence, trespassing, violation of protective orders, traffic and parking violations.
In addition to the elected judge, there is a commissioner and local private practice lawyers acting as judges pro-tem appointed by the judge.
Getting cases heard
The council’s actions Monday night put a plan in place if the Bellingham Municipal Court continues not be a fully functioning court system, Lilliquist said in a comment sent Wednesday to The Herald.
Lilliquist said city administration had not asked to move municipal court cases to the county’s district court, nor is that the desire of the City Council.
“The dysfunction and discord within the municipal court is unsettling, to say the least. The people of Bellingham need a fully functioning court system, and we not (sic) really have that now,” Lilliquist said. “But if the dysfunction continues at the municipal court, we will need to have a way for people to get the cases heard and resolved.”
Janice Keller, a spokesperson for the city, said the administration has not directed the city council to adopt an ordinance terminating the city’s municipal court, and that the council has not asked the administration to bring forward such an ordinance.
Keller said any consideration of an interlocal agreement between the city and county, and any request to adopt an ordinance closing the court would be done in open session during a city council meeting.
Lev’s lawsuit
In early June, a Skagit County Superior Court judge granted a temporary injunction in Lev’s lawsuit, stopping the city from compelling court staff to participate in the investigation. It also stopped the city from disciplining, firing, suspending or denying employees’ access to court buildings or computer accounts, according to Whatcom County Superior Court records.
The case moved to Skagit County because all four of Whatcom County’s Superior Court judges removed themselves from hearing the case because they’ve all endorsed Lev’s candidacy for another four-year term as judge. She is running unopposed.
The injunction is temporary, and the case will continue to be litigated.
On June 17, Skagit County Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Yost Neidzwski denied a motion by Lev’s legal team to shorten time, and the next scheduled hearing was set for Friday, June 25.
The hearing will be on Lev’s motion to disqualify the attorneys representing the city and Fleetwood, due to what Lev’s attorneys say is “an unethical conflict of interest.”
The Bellingham City Council also voted unanimously Monday night to authorize the mayor to enter into contracts with outside legal counsel to assist the city attorney’s office in Lev’s lawsuit.
Lev is ultimately 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.
Municipal court history
A city or town with a population of 400,000 or less can adopt an ordinance creating a city municipal court, according to Washington State law.
Whatcom County District Court handled gross misdemeanor offenses, such as driving under the influence and domestic violence, and minor violations like shoplifting and traffic offenses, for Bellingham until 1998, according to Bellingham Herald archives.
The city then took on the additional caseload, and a part-time municipal judge was hired. In 2001, Bellingham residents voted to elect Bellingham’s first full-time Municipal Court judge, the archives show. The city was legally required to have an elected municipal court judge because the city was paying city-appointed attorneys to serve as part-time municipal court judges more than 35 hours per week, the Herald archives state.
Lev became Bellingham’s first elected Municipal Court judge in 2002, according to the city’s website and Herald archives. 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 24, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
