Overview of the Collection
Historical NoteThe Municipal Court was created in 1955 under Chapter 290 of the Washington State Laws. It has exclusive original jurisdiction over violations of all city ordinances and collects fines and forfeitures relating thereto. The first judicial officer of Seattle was appointed by City Council in 1875 from among the King County Justices of the Peace serving the Seattle Precinct. In 1886, a charter amendment made each Seattle Precinct Justice a Police Justice with jurisdiction over ordinance violations. In 1891, State Law created a Municipal Court system that included a Justice Court and Police Court. Prior to establishment of the current court system, city ordinances were adjudicated in Police and Traffic Courts. Municipal Probation Service was established as part of the Municipal Court in 1968. Content DescriptionAnnual reports for the Municipal Court date from 1945-1994; annual reports will continue to be added to the series. When Municipal Probation Services published a separate annual report, it is filed with reports for the Municipal Court. Included with this series are annual reports for the Municipal Traffic Court and Traffic Violations Bureau, dating from 1945-1968. Municipal Traffic Court and Traffic Violations Bureau Annual Reports include information on number of cases, amount of appeals paid, and fines, forfeitures, and fees collected, as well as statistics regarding tickets issued, persons books, cars impounded, and service calls. Some reports also include narrative. Also included in some reports are statistics on the types of traffic cases tried, as well as jail sentences and license suspensions and revocations. Police Division reports contain statistics on arrests and cases filed; the report for 1949 cites public drunkenness as the primary reason for an increase in arrests from previous years. Municipal Court annual reports contain statistics on number of cases, number of and outcome of appeals, fines and forfeitures, monies collected for various departments, and types of cases dealt with by the Justice Court. Later reports include administrative information on the court and case loads. Beginning in 1971, reports include narrative as well as statistics. Use of the Collection
Restrictions on Access :
Records are open to the public. Preferred Citation :[Item and date], Municipal Court Annual Reports, Record Series 1802-J4. Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives. Administrative InformationDetailed Description of the CollectionThe following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
SubjectsThis collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
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