Judge: Monroe Municipal Court appeals to city needs

Monroe Municipal Court Judge Mara Rozzano provided the Monroe City Council a glimpse at the inner-workings of the city's new municipal court on Tuesday, Sept. 15.

The municipal court opened in January and has jurisdiction over all traffic infractions and misdemeanor offenses that occur in the city of Monroe. Last year, such offenses were processed at the Snohomish County Evergreen District Court, which is located by the Evergreen State Fairgrounds. The new municipal court was implemented as a way to provide more streamlined services to resident and reduce city costs.

Enhancements were made at city hall last year to accommodate the new court, which is in session every Wednesday in council chambers. Jury trials are held on the fourth Friday of every month.

"We hit the ground running on Jan. 1,GÇ¥ Rozzano said. "I have three wonderful employees that have made my life amazingly easy as the new judge here.GÇ¥

Court Administrator Pam Haley came to the city from Snohomish County District Court, where she worked as the assistant director. Haley, who grew up in Monroe, provides 24 years of district court experience to the city.

"She keeps everything running just as well as possible,GÇ¥ Rozzano said. "She's the best.GÇ¥

Shelene Rosenbach serves as the court clerk, and former Monroe Police Sgt. Derrel Johnson serves as the bailiff. Johnson retired from the MPD in December 2013, after 28 years of service to the community. He was a well-known advocate for community-policing tactics, which he practiced every day while at work, and often went out of his way to establish meaningful relationships with residents ' even the troublemakers.

Those relationships, said Rozzano, have been invaluable at the court.

"He is so familiar with the citizens of Monroe,GÇ¥ Rozzano said. "Not just those that frequent our court but all citizens, because he was a very, very active officer and grew up here. So from that perspective, he is often greeting people and diffusing situations before they even come into the courtroom.GÇ¥

Rozzano commended the Monroe Police Department for its support of the court, including its assistance in providing transportation to individuals incarcerated at the Snohomish County Jail. Since the court started in January, Rozzano said 149 inmates have required transport from the jail to the court by Monroe Police officers. Video court is one alternative being considered to alleviate the burden.

The municipal court handles criminal misdemeanors and gross misdemeanors, such as car prowls, shoplifting, malicious mischief and theft. It handles traffic infractions, including driving under the influence and other code violations.

Filing numbers for this year are well ahead of where they were last year. Total filings at Snohomish County's Evergreen District Court for Monroe topped out at 2,143 in 2014, while a total of 2,605 cases have been filed this year, from January through August.

Rozzano said the number of criminal cases so far this year reflects increases across the board. A total of 38 DUI cases have been filed, compared to 47 filings for all of 2014. Traffic misdemeanors are at 85 for the year, compared to 77 in 2014, and 363 non-traffic misdemeanors have been filed, compared to 333 in 2014.

Rozzano said that her intention has been to benefit the city of Monroe by holding nuisance offenders accountable for their actions.

"Studies have shown repeatedly that it is the smaller crimes,GÇ¥ Rozzano said. "That if you focus on those, it has the effect of eliminating some of the bigger crimes, and it makes it a community that's more enjoyable to live in, and a community that's more enjoyable to work in.GÇ¥

She hopes to implement a community-oriented court program in the future that would focus on correcting underlying issues rather than simply punishing the offender for their actions. In alignment with this goal, Rozzano has changed the way her court fines are imposed based on a Washington Supreme Court decision that came down in March.-á -á

The decision addresses legal financial obligations (LFO) that are imposed regardless of the defendant's ability to pay. In its March decision, the court asserted that challenges associated with unpaid fines can inhibit a defendant's ability to reenter society and lead to increased recidivism. According to state justices, the American Civil Liberties Union issued a report in 2010 that unveiled problems with LFO systems in five states, Washington being one of them.

Rozzano said this hasn't stopped her from issuing fines to low-income and indigent defendants, however, she now gives them an opportunity to do something to better their lives, instead of only issuing monetary penalties.

"Many of them don't even have a high school education,GÇ¥ Rozzano said. "So I'll give them credit towards the non-mandatory fines for getting their GED certificate.GÇ¥

The program does not work incrementally. Defendants are required to present the actual GED certificate in order to receive the credit, which is calculated based on the average number of hours it takes to obtain a GED.

"I don't need a partially completed GED. I need the GED,GÇ¥ Rozzano said. "Once they have that GED, they now have job potential; they now have the ability to get out of the system.GÇ¥

Rozzano said that she got the idea for the GED credit from another judge, and thinks it will be a benefit to the community. She has tried to maintain a firm consistency in her judgments. If a defendant doesn't comply with her conditions, she said she has no issue with sending them to jail. She is hopeful that by swiftly addressing petty offenses on a level that attacks the root cause of the problem, the number of repeat offenders will eventually decrease.

"I tell people often I never want to see them again unless they're here to serve on jury duty,GÇ¥ Rozzano said.

For more information about the Monroe Municipal Court, visit www.monroewa.gov/court.