HomeMy WebLinkAboutMOUMemorandum of Understanding
between Kittitas County Courts and Judicial Agencies
and the Executive branch of Kittitas County
The purpose of this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is to set forth the intent of
the parties when the Executive Branch of Kittitas County government (Executive)
receives a public records request related to these Courts or Judicial Branch Agencies or
their employees.
Definitions: For the purposes of this Memorandum of Understanding, the Executive is
the Board of County Commissioners (BoCC); the Courts are the Superior Court of
Washington for Kittitas County, the Lower Kittitas County District Court, and the Upper
Kittitas County District Court, and Judicial Branch Agencies are the entities commonly
referred to as "Misdemeanant Probation" and "Juvenile Court Services". The various
types of records related to the operations of the Courts and Judicial Branch Agencies
are defined in rules promulgated by the Washington Supreme Court.
The Executive is an "agency" under the PRA and must respond to requests for public
records. "Public record" includes any writing containing information relating to the
conduct of government or the performance of any governmental or proprietary function
prepared, owned, used, or retained by any state or local agency regardless of physical
form or characteristics. RCW 42.56.010(3).
This MOU recognizes that all Courts and Judicial Branch Agencies fall within the judicial
branch, an independent branch of government, and are not included. within the definition
of an "agency" under the Public Records Act, chapter 42.56 RCW (PRA). Records of
Courts and Judicial Branch Agencies are controlled by provisions of the Washington
Constitution, statutory and case law, and General Rules promulgated by the
Washington Supreme Court.
Some of the records of Courts and Judicial Branch Agencies are maintained exclusively
by the specific Court or agency. The processes applicable for viewing or obtaining
copies of such records are provided for in General Rule (GR) 31 and GR 31.1. "Court
Record" is defined in GR 31(c)(4) and are those records generally related to a judicial
proceeding. Access to such records is through a request made to the office of the Clerk
of the applicable court. "Administrative Record" is defined in GR 31(c)(2) and GR
31.1(b)(2) and GR 31.1(i)(2). Access to such records is through a request made to the
appropriate Public Records Officer as described in number 1, below.
Other records of the Courts and Judicial Branch Agencies reside on resources provided
by the Executive, such as IT servers. The Executive is an incidental custodian of these
records and does not use them for any executive branch purpose. They are not records
of the Executive and thus not available by request to the Executive.
There are other instances where the Executive or other Offices or Departments of
County government performs administrative functions, such as processing of payroll
and benefits or facilitating telecommunications, using or producing records related to the
Courts and Judicial Branch Agencies or their employees.
When the Executive receives a public records request related to the Courts and Judicial
Branch Agencies or their employees, the parties agree to employ the following process:
For requests for records that are maintained exclusively by the Courts and
Judicial Branch Agencies that happen to reside on executive resources, including
telephone records, the Executive will direct the requester to the Court or Judicial
Branch Agency to be addressed pursuant to the above cited Court Rules,
consistent with the provisions of Kittitas County Code §2.55.020(1) and the
information provided on the County website at
http://www.co.kiftitas.wa.us/request/default.aspx.
2. In response to requests for records relating to Courts and Judicial Branch
Agencies or their employees which are used by the Executive or other
Departments or Offices of Kittitas County government to perform administrative
functions, including payroll and benefits administration, the Executive will direct
the requester to the Public Records Officers of both the Judicial Branch and any
other applicable County government entities. The appropriate Office
Holder/Department Head or their designee will respond to the requestor pursuant
to the Public Records Act, after conferring with the internally designated official of
the Court/Judicial Branch '•-
Judge Scott R. Sparks
Kittitas County Superior Court
/ -,
Date
Kittitas County Board of Commissioners
Chairman
Date
By / By
Judge Darrel R. Ellis Jerry Pettit
Kittitas County Upper District Court Kittitas County Auditor
- -5-0C) I Lo
Date
Date
Page 2 of 3
By
Jud a James E. Hurson
Kittitas County Lower District Court
02-2N
Date
Jim Goeben by Andrew Drain (Acting Director)
Information Technology Director
Date
Lisa Young
Human Resource Director
Date
Page 3 of 3