Planning underway for innovative
court that strives to reduce crime
and improve lives
By Judge Susan Mahoney
King County District Court (KCDC) and the City of Auburn are
partnering to bring a community court option to Auburn.
Community court is an alternative, problem-solving court for
non-violent misdemeanor cases. It allows cases to be handled
by referrals to community resources that address a defendant’s
underlying needs that likely led to criminal activity.
Re-thinking criminal justice
The criminal justice system traditionally seeks to reduce crime
by punishing people. While fines or jail can be effective –
and sometimes necessary – deterrents, they do not address
the problems that many people struggle with that might
have led them to commit crime. Such problems can include
homelessness, extreme poverty, addiction or mental health
problems. While not everyone with these challenges commits
crime, community court provides an effective alternative for
people who do. It holds defendants accountable while offering
resources and support to build a better life.
How it works
An in-depth evaluation is conducted to determine what
personal challenges the defendant faces and the types of
services that could help them.
Community court still involves a judge and attorneys, but the
defendant is connected with resource providers and community
volunteers. They are provided encouragement and support to
meet their goals through frequent court check-ins. This court
model has been proven effective at reducing new crime.
Rather than continuing to make defendants who are struggling
feel separated from their community, they are provided an
opportunity to be a part of it in a law abiding and productive
way. Community court participants are required to remain
crime free, and often must perform community service to take
responsibility for their crimes. If a defendant does not follow
through with their commitments, their case is returned to
traditional court.
Community court is only available to defendants who commit
“quality of life” crimes such as shoplifting, minor in possession,
trespass, etc. Other misdemeanors, as well as felonies, are
handled in traditional court.
Community resource centers
Essential to the program is a community resource center co-located with the court. The resource center provides participants
– and anyone else in the community – ready access to dozens of
service providers that can help them overcome their challenges.
Services include access to treatment, housing, transportation
discounts, DSHS benefits, etc. A community resource center with
so many vital services available at one time makes a significant
difference for the entire community.
During COVID-19, physical resource centers cannot operate,
but a virtual resource center is available for anyone to access by
video or telephone.
Reducing crime
KCDC currently operates community courts in Redmond
(opened March 2018) and Shoreline (opened January 2020). The
Redmond program has seen great success and the resource
center has been accessed by non-court participants from all
over the region. Although it is too soon to prove what impact
these courts have had on crime, data from other community
courts show it is an effective way to reduce recidivism. For
example, Spokane Community Court reduced the commission
of new crimes within 12 months by 16 percentage points.
Saving taxpayers money
Community court can help taxpayers save money by reducing
the need for costly jail services. Additionally, it helps lower crime
costs borne by victims. For example, the Red Hook Community
Justice Center in New York saved the community $15 million in
victimization costs.
Next steps
King County Community Courts are funded by the county’s
MIDD Behavioral Health sales tax. As with other local sales taxes,
MIDD has been severely impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic,
but KCDC and the city are working to address budget and
staffing challenges to meet a targeted launch date of early 2021.
King County District Court Chief Presiding Judge Susan Mahoney was first elected to the bench in 2010. A South King County resident, her
prior legal experience includes serving as a King County deputy prosecuting attorney, assistant city attorney for Des Moines and attorney in private practice.