Bail Task Force (SB 6673)

The Bail Task Force created by SB 6673 recently met again. The Task Force has created three subcommittees to address the variety of issues related to bail and how it works. The three subcommittees are bail practices; pretrial release process; and consumer issues. The subcommittees will be meeting over the next two months. Tami Purdue, Chief Prosecutor for the City of Auburn, is representing cities on this task force and is co-chairing the bail practices subcommittee. There has been quite a bit of discussion about the use of bail schedules and whether or not there are more circumstances when bail must be determined by a judge and a bail schedule should not be used. There has also been a great deal of discussion about the practices of the bail bond industry. The next meeting of the task force is September 8.

Gangs continue to plague cities

Cities large and small across the state continue to face problems with gang activity and related violent crime. During the AWC Annual Conference, a group of cities met to discuss the need for additional tools and legislative changes to help with this fight. Last year there were a handful of gang related bills introduced, but they did not pass the Legislature. AWC is working with cities to identify high priority areas that we may wish to pursue in the 2011 legislative sessions. AWC will host a conference call on this topic in the next month. If you would like to participate or have suggestions, please contact Candice Bock.

Election of all municipal court judges

The Board for Judicial Administration (BJA) discussed the election of part-time municipal court judges at one of its recent board meetings. Last session, the BJA requested legislation requiring the election of all municipal court judges, SB 6686, and they clearly intend to pursue legislation again next session. The BJA will be asking elected judges to talk to their legislators next session and are signaling their intent to get an early start on this issue.

Cities have strongly opposed requiring the election of part-time municipal court judges and maintain that appointed judges are ethical, cost-effective, and meet local needs. Please see AWC’s fact sheet for more details and watch for updated information coming soon. In the meantime, it would be helpful for cities that value their appointed judges to begin contacting and educating their legislators.

[ previous article ] [ return to top ] [ next article ]