Chapter 10.11
COURT-MONITORED DEFERRALS
Sections:
10.11.010 Court-monitored deferrals—Eligibility.
10.11.020 Petition—Requirements.
10.11.050 Monitoring—Hearing on violation—Compliance.
10.11.010 Court-monitored deferrals—Eligibility.
A. Except as provided in subsection B of this section, a person charged with a misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor may petition a municipal court judge (“judge”) to be considered for a court-monitored deferral. The petition shall be filed with the court at least seven days before the date set for trial but, upon a written motion and affidavit establishing good cause for the delay and failure to comply with this section, the judge may waive this requirement subject to the defendant’s reimbursement to the court of the witness fees and expenses due for subpoenaed witnesses who have appeared on the date set for trial as well as any other expenses incurred by the court specifically for trial.
B. Eligibility.
1. A person charged with an offense under RCW 46.61.502 or 46.61.504 shall not be eligible for a court-monitored deferral.
2. A person shall not be eligible for a court-monitored deferral without agreement of the city’s prosecuting authority (“prosecutor”). (Ord. 3266-12 § 1, 2012)
10.11.020 Petition—Requirements.
A. Case History and Written Assessment and Treatment Plan. Unless otherwise agreed to by the prosecutor and approved by the judge, the petition shall contain a case history and written assessment and treatment plan prepared by a state-licensed chemical dependency treatment provider or state-licensed domestic violence treatment provider, or, if justified under the circumstances, other provider of treatment for mental or behavioral problems.
B. Conditions. The defendant shall agree to all conditions of the court-monitored deferral, including but not limited to:
1. Having no criminal law violations during the period of the deferral;
2. Completion of treatment;
3. Payment of the cost of treatment;
4. Standard probation costs for supervision and monitoring;
5. Costs of court-appointed counsel;
6. Restitution.
C. Compliance—Dismissal or Amendment of Charge(s). The prosecutor shall indicate whether upon the expiration of the period of the court-monitored deferral, if the defendant complies with all terms and conditions required of him/her by the court-monitored deferral, the city will bring a motion for (1) a dismissal of the charge(s) or (2) an order amending the charge(s).
D. Procedure on Sentencing. The petition shall include the maximum sentence for the offense(s) and a statement that the defendant understands that if the matter proceeds to sentencing:
1. The judge may impose any sentence up to the maximum, no matter what the prosecutor or the defense recommends;
2. If the offense is a domestic violence offense, the defendant, upon revocation and conviction, might lose the right to bear, possess or own firearms until that right is restored by the superior court as provided by state law; and
3. If the defendant is not a citizen of the United States, a conviction in the charge may have ramifications on his/her right to stay in this country.
E. Acknowledgement and Waiver of Rights. The petition shall contain the following:
1. Acknowledgement and waiver of the right to a trial in sixty to ninety days pursuant to CrRLJ 3.3 and the right to speedy trial;
2. Acknowledgement and waiver of the right to have the matter heard before a jury;
3. Acknowledgement and waiver of the right to testify on his/her own behalf, to call witnesses to testify on his/her behalf, and the right to present any evidence in his/her defense upon a revocation of the court-monitored deferral;
4. Acknowledgement and waiver of the right to contest and object to any evidence presented against the defendant as to the defendant’s guilt or innocence regarding the underlying charge(s) at any future hearings if the defendant is found to have violated one or more of the conditions of the court-monitored deferral;
5. A statement that defendant understands that the petition and the statements contained in it are not an admission of guilt, and that a hearing as described in Section 10.11.050(B) is necessary before the statements can be used to support a finding of guilt;
6. A statement acknowledging that if the defendant is found to have violated the conditions of the court-monitored deferral, evidence will be presented against the defendant at a future hearing and the judge will read and review the evidence in determining the defendant’s guilt or innocence;
7. An agreement that the police report and/or other agreed-upon factual record of the conduct (“factual record”) shall be placed into the court file for administrative efficiency but not admitted into evidence at the time the petition is entered into and/or the order granting the court-monitored deferral is signed;
8. Acknowledgement that if the defendant is found to have violated the conditions of the court-monitored deferral, the defendant has waived any objection to admission of the factual record into evidence at a future hearing; and
9. A statement agreeing that should the matter come on for stipulated trial at a later date, the defendant gives up his/her right to contest the lawfulness of the search of him/her and the seizure of any evidence from him/her as set forth in the offense(s) charged herein.
If, prior to the order granting a court-monitored deferral is signed, the defendant wishes to withdraw his/her petition or if the court declines to sign the order granting a court-monitored deferral, none of the waivers required by this section except the waiver of the right to trial within sixty to ninety days and the right to speedy trial will be considered to have taken effect. (Ord. 3266-12 § 2, 2012)
10.11.030 Order—Findings.
A. Judges shall have the authority to grant a court-monitored deferral.
B. Before signing an order for a court-monitored deferral, the judge shall make findings that:
1. The defendant has signed a petition that includes all of the requirements of Section 10.11.020;
2. The defendant has knowingly, voluntarily and intelligently waived his/her rights and agreed to proceed by way of a court-monitored deferral; and
3. In the event the court-monitored deferral is revoked and the defendant is found guilty of the offense(s), the defendant understands that he/she can be sentenced up to the maximum penalty allowed by law despite any agreed-upon sentencing recommendation between the parties.
C. The findings required by subsection B of this section will be included in the order granting court-monitored deferral. (Ord. 3266-12 § 3, 2012)
10.11.040 Term—Jurisdiction.
A. A court-monitored deferral shall not extend for more than two years from the date it is entered unless agreed to by the prosecutor and authorized by the judge.
B. The municipal court shall have continuing jurisdiction and authority during the period of the court-monitored deferral. (Ord. 3266-12 § 4, 2012)
10.11.050 Monitoring—Hearing on violation—Compliance.
A. Monitoring.
1. Following entry of a court-monitored deferral, the judge will refer the matter to the court probation department (“probation”), which will monitor the defendant’s compliance with all conditions of the deferral.
2. Probation will report to the judge on compliance. In the event that a term or condition of a court-monitored deferral appears to have been violated, the judge may decide to set a hearing for review of and possible revocation of the deferral. If the judge does set a hearing, probation shall provide written notice of the apparent violation to the parties in advance of the hearing.
3. Nothing in this subsection affects the court’s discretion to set compliance review hearings during the pendency of the court-monitored deferral.
B. Hearing.
1. If a hearing is set, the parties will be notified of the alleged violation and hearing date.
2. At the hearing, evidence shall be taken of the defendant’s alleged violation and the defendant shall have the right to present evidence showing that there was no violation.
3. If the judge finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant willfully violated the court-monitored deferral, the matter shall proceed to stipulated trial as set forth in subsection (B)(4) of this section.
4. At any stipulated trial following revocation of a court-monitored deferral, the judge will read and review the factual record in determining the defendant’s guilt of the offense(s) and, based only upon the factual record, the judge will decide whether or not the defendant is guilty of the offense(s).
5. Following imposition of a finding of guilt, the matter may proceed immediately to sentencing or sentencing may be continued.
C. Upon the expiration of the period of the court-monitored deferral, if the defendant has complied with all terms and conditions required of him/her as set forth in the petition, the judge shall have the authority to dismiss the charge(s) with prejudice or amend the charge following motion of the prosecutor in accordance with his/her agreement in the petition. (Ord. 3266-12 § 5, 2012)