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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, March 18, 2004
| Contact: |
Don Krupp, Chief Administrative Officer, 360-786-5440 |
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Elizabeth Petrich, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, 360-786-5540 |
State Supreme
Court Decision on County Courthouse Location
OLYMPIA -- - The
State Supreme Court has issued a decision regarding a Thurston County case
involving the location of superior courts, County Clerk and Prosecutor’s
office. State law requires
that these functions shall be located “at the county seat.” A jail, unlike superior courts, may be located anywhere
within the county. In 2002
the county, along with Olympia and Tumwater sought a judicial
clarification on whether the regional justice center, as originally
proposed, could be located at a Tumwater site, six blocks outside of
Olympia. The county seat is
Olympia. The supreme court
ruled that, “At the county
seat means ‘at Olympia’ not some other city ‘near Olympia’…This
conclusion is consistent with the purpose behind the enactment of the
statutes requiring that certain offices and facilities of county
government be located ‘at the county seat.’”
This decision doesn't affect the current proposal
planned for the Mottman location. It
was scaled back shortly after the trial courts decision to include only
district and municipal court functions, along with the jail.
The decision does affect the extent to which the county can locate
superior court, the county clerk and the county prosecutors office at that
location in the future.
Deputy Thurston County Prosecutor Elizabeth Petrich says the
ruling was not unexpected. “This
really helps to clarify that “at” literally means within the current
corporate boundaries of the city of Olympia for those functions of county
government that are required to be at the county seat.”
County
Administrator Don Krupp says he appreciates Olympia and Tumwater’s
willingness to explore this question before the state’s highest court.
“This gives us some certainty for future planning for any
expansion of county government offices.
It is essential that we conduct the business of the people in the
correct manner and this ruling helps us do that.”
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