SPECIAL ADJUDICATION FOR ENFORCEMENT (SAFE). VOLUME I KING COUNTY DISTRICT COURTS, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

The King County District Courts Special Adjudication for Enforcement (SAFE) Project was designed to demonstrate the feasibility of using informal parajudicial hearings for adjudication of non-mandatory moving traffic violations (those offenses not requiring mandatory appearance in court based on the seriousness). The SAFE procedures, which are now integrated into District Court operations, were intended to simplify the administrative tasks associated with the traditional arraignment/trial process and eliminate one required personal appearance of persons wishing to contest their charges. Informal hearings, in which defendants can explain their side of the matter, are conducted by magistrates (practicing attorneys). Magistrates can accept guilty pleas, reduce and/or suspend fines, and, in extreme situations, dismiss cases. If the defendant is adamant about his/her not guilty plea, a trial is set (bypassing the formal arraignment). The program emphasizes referrals to driver educational programs and is oriented toward driver improvement. The use of SAFE hearings and procedures during the demonstration period allowed the District Courts system to deal with an increasing number of traffic filings without a significant increase in staff, and is projected to result in reductions of approximately 34,000 arraignments and 7,000 trials in 1979.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • See also Executive Summary, PB80-179864 and Volume 2, PB80-179880. Report on King County District Courts. Also available in set of 3 reports PC E08, PB80-179856.
• Corporate Authors:

  Washington State Off of the Admin for the Courts

  Temple of Justice
  Olympia, WA  United States  98504

  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • ARNOLD, D
  • Fleissner, D
• Publication Date: 1979-3

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: 97 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Adjudication; Courts; Demonstration projects; Evaluation; Hearings; Law enforcement; Traffic regulations; Traffic safety
• Uncontrolled Terms: Traffic laws; Violations
• Geographic Terms: Washington (State)
• Subject Areas: Highways; Law; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies; I73: Traffic Control;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00314063
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: Annual Rpt, HS-805 305
• Contract Numbers: DOT-HS-343-3-682
• Files: HSL, NTIS, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Aug 5 1982 12:00AM