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It is now easier for the public to track first appearances for felony cases.
The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has created a new dashboard that displays basic information about an upcoming court case —“public information that otherwise would have to be found by going to court or digging through individual court files,” a press release reads.
“We know many people in the public — including victims and a defendant’s family — can’t attend first appearance hearings even when they’d like to,” it continues. “This dashboard provides better transparency for communities across King County.”
This information includes the names of the suspects, the alleged crime, the booking status, arrest time, booking time, the involved police agency, the hearing type (first or second appearance) plus time and date, the bail amount requested by prosecutors, and the bail amount set by a judge (if probable cause was established by the court).
Dashboard users can also search by the defendant’s name, court location, hearing type or date, and status of the case.
This information is for felony cases only, and misdemeanors are excluded.
The KCPAO does note that it attempts to present as accurate information as possible, but “there is no guarantee of accuracy,” and any questions or concerns should be addressed to [email protected].
COURT PROCESS
Some people may be unfamiliar with how the court system works, so here’s a quick guide for how it works when a suspect is arrested for a felony.
After the arrest and booking, prosecutors have 48 hours to determine there was probable cause for the arrest; this is often established during a suspect’s first appearance at court. Suspects will appear before a judge during this appearance.
If probable cause is found, bail and conditions of release are set, and a second court date is established; first appearances can be watched in person, or audio can be requested.
If probable cause is not found, the suspect is released.
Official charges are often filed during the second appearance.
Although this is called a “second appearance,” suspects are not required to appear before a judge.
Once charges are filed, the trial process begins, and trial information can be found on the King County Superior Court Clerk’s Office’s KC SCRIPT Portal.
Defendants are innocent until proven guilty in court.
Sound Publishing publications typically do not name suspects of crimes until charges are officially filed, even though the names of suspects are displayed on the dashboard.
WHAT THE DASHBOARD DOES NOT SHOW
The KCPAO specifically notes that the names of judges are not included in the dashboard.
“Judges are being threatened now more than ever, and that’s a disturbing trend Prosecutors don’t want to contribute to that,” a KCPAO press release reads.
Judge information is still part of the public court file.
