Municipal Court

Welcome to Granger Municipal Court

 

Granger Municipal Staff
Robert R. Northcott, Judge

Heather Sides, Court Administrator

Granger Prosecuting Attorney
Quinn Dalan

Granger Appointed Counsel
Norma Barajas
Phone: (509) 895-6065

Physical Address
Granger City Hall
102 Main Street
Granger WA 98932

Mailing Address
Granger Municipal Court
PO Box 1100
Granger WA 98932-1100

Phone: (509) 854-0238
Fax: (509) 854-2103

Office Hours
Monday – Friday: 8:30 am to 4:30 pm
Every Friday Closed 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm for lunch

You may request a Granger Municipal Court Public Records by one of the following methods:

Granger Municipal Court
PO Box 1100
Granger, WA 98932-1100
ATTN: Public Records Officer

Methods of Payment

The court accepts:

        • Cash
        • Money Orders
        • Currently unavailable to accept the following:
            • Payments by phone
            • Debit or Credit Cards
            • Personal Checks

Clerk & Court Staff Can

      • Tell you the status of a specific case, unless the case or information in the case is confidential. Confidential information is not available to the public because of state law or a judge’s decision.
      • Provide the court file on a specific case for you to review. If the case is confidential, you will need a court order to see the file.
      • Give you general information on court rules, procedures and practices.
      • Provide court-approved or required forms or tell you where you can find forms. There may be a charge for some forms. Forms are not available for all legal proceedings.
      • Offer guidance on how to complete some deadlines and due dates.
      • Provide court schedules and information on how to get matters scheduled.
      • Provide the telephone number of the local attorney referral service or information about other agencies that may assist you.

 Please Note: Clerk & Court staffs do not know the answers to all questions about court rules, procedures and practices.

Clerk & Court Staff Cannot

      • Advise you about whether you should file a case or whether you should take any particular action in a case.
      • Tell you what words to put in a form.
      • Tell you what to say in court.
      • Tell you what decision the judge will make or what sentence the judge will impose.
      • Comment about specific persons you may name in a petition or pleading.
      • Neither implies the law nor gives direction about how to respond in any aspect of the legal process.
      • Change an order signed by a judge.
      • Let you talk to a judge outside of court.

Legal Advice
Clerk & Court staff provides information, not legal advice. If you need legal advice, please contact an Attorney.

Remember: The court, including the judge and all staff, must remain impartial. They do not take sides in any matter coming before the court.

 General Court Information

Bench Warrant

If a warrant has been issued for failure to appear or failure to comply with a court order, you must appear in person at the Granger Municipal Court office. For specific information regarding a warrant on your case, please have your ticket number available and contact Granger Municipal Court at 509-854-0238.

Bail Bonds

Bond Exoneration: Bail Bonds are released by the court upon final disposition of your case; or, as otherwise directed by the Judge. Specific questions regarding Bail Bonds may be directed to the Granger Municipal Court (509) 854-0238.

Bail Refunds: Bail refunds for Granger Municipal Court are completed in the Accounting Section at the Granger Municipal Court 102 Main Street, Granger WA. Cash bail posted could be applied to your court fine & obligations. Should there be a remaining balance of posted bail, a refund check will be mailed to the payer of said bail at the end of the accounting period.

Payment Information

Time Payments: Granger Municipal Court fine payment policy is: Time payments are granted only if you have appeared in court before a Judge or a Time Payment Agreement has been signed with Granger Municipal Court upon final disposition. Monetary arrangements will be made with the Court Administrator as to the amount you are able to pay.

 Delinquent Accounts: All delinquent accounts are assigned to and are handled by Evergreen Financial Services 1-800-444-6574 or 509-577-7170. They are located at 1214 North 16th Avenue, Yakima WA 98902.  If you have payment arrangements are unable to make your scheduled payment on time, you must contact the collections section in person on or before the payment due date. If your account is current, but you need an extension of time to pay, you must contact Evergreen Financial Services with your request.

Unpaid: If you have been advised by the Department of Licensing that you are unable to obtain a valid license because of an unpaid traffic citation; you must pay the balance in full before the court will release the hold on your driver’s license. You must pay by cash, cashier’s check, or money order. The court will not accept personal checks on unpaid traffic citations. For further questions, please have your citation number available and call the Granger Municipal Court at (509) 854-0238.

Restitution

Payments of restitution are a high priority issue with the court. The court makes every attempt to issue restitution checks to the parties involved in a timely manner. For specific questions regarding restitution payments, please contact the Granger Municipal Court at (509) 854-0238.

 Traffic Tickets

Mitigation Hearing

If you agree that you committed the violation, but would like to explain the circumstances to a Judge, check box number 2 on the lower right portion of your ticket. This is called a mitigation hearing & is a hearing to explain the circumstances only – not to argue that you did not commit the violation.

Mail or deliver in person the signed green copy to the court office within 15 days of the ticket issue date. Make sure that you have included your current mailing address on the back of the green and/or white copy. The court will set the case and notify you of the hearing date by mail.

Insurance Tickets Only

If a person who has been cited with a violation of RCW 46.30.020 presents to the court Clerk, evidence that the person had in effect at the time of the citation liability insurance as required by RCW 46.30.020, then upon payment of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) administrative costs, the case shall be dismissed and the court clerk shall be authorized to make appropriate notation of the dismissal in the court file.

Contested Hearing

If you believe that you did not commit the violation, check box number 3 on the lower right portion of your ticket. Mail or deliver in person, the signed green copy to the court office within 15 days of the ticket issue date.  Make sure that you have included your current mailing address on the back of the green copy.  The court will set the case & notify you of the hearing date by mail.

If you wish to subpoena the police officer or other witnesses to testify at your hearing, you must submit a written request with names & addresses to the court as soon as possible. The court will fill out the subpoena(s); however, as the requesting party in a civil infraction hearing, you are required to provide service of the subpoena & to show proof of such service to the court. You must give at least 7 day notice to your witnesses.

Failure to Appear

If you cannot appear for your infraction court date, you must submit a written request to the court to reschedule the hearing. All written requests must be postmarked on or before the hearing date.

If you do not reschedule in a timely manner, or, if the court denies your request, an additional penalty of $52.00 will be added to the original penalty on the ticket & the court will notify the Dept. of Licensing of your failure to appear. This will cause suspension of your driver’s license until you have paid the full amount due.

The court may also refer the ticket to a Collection Agency & you will be responsible to pay all collections fees in addition to all court imposed penalties.

Deferred Finding

A deferred finding is when you what to defer your ticket for one year in order to keep the ticket off your driving record. If you do not have more than 5 moving violations in two years and you have not had a deferred in the past 7 years you may be eligible for this type of hearing. Bring the green copy of your ticket to the court office and ask if your case qualifies for a deferred finding. A court date will be set and you will be given the opportunity to speak with the judge. If a deferred is entered into a $200 (or face value of ticket whichever is less) administrative fee will be assessed, (non-refundable) you will be given a new court date one year from the time of judgment. A records check will be conducted at the conclusion of one year. If you have no new violations in that one year period your case will be dismissed. If there are new violations in that one year your ticket will be found committed and you will owe the face value of the ticket.

Unable to Renew License on Unpaid Ticket

If you have been advised by the Department of Licensing that you will be unable to renew your license, or, if your license has been suspended because of an unpaid traffic infraction, you must pay the balance in full before the court will release the hold on your driver’s license.

You must pay by money order, cashier’s check or cash. The court will NOT ACCEPT PERSONAL CHECKS on unpaid traffic citations.

For further questions, please have your citation number available and call the Granger Municipal Court at (509) 854-0238.

Criminal Traffic Citation

If you have received a gold copy of a criminal traffic or non-traffic ticket, you must appear in court. This is a Mandatory Court Appearance.  The date to appear is written on the front of your ticket in the box marked Appearance Date on the month, day, year and time. If there’s not a date in the box please contact the court ASAP.

Your first appearance in court is called an arraignment. If you plead not guilty to the charge, your case will be set for a pre-trial status conference hearing and thereafter may proceed to a bench trial or a jury trial.

For specific questions regarding your citation, please contact the Granger Municipal Court at 509-854-0238.

Failure to appear on this type of citation may result in an arrest warrant.

Other Agency Information

Sunnyside Municipal Court
Toppenish Municipal Court
Law & Justice Center
401 Homer Street
Sunnyside WA 98944

Main Phone: (509) 839-4427
Main Fax: (509) 836-6272
http://www.ci.sunnyside.wa.us/135/Municipal-Court

Wapato Municipal Court
205 South Simcoe Avenue
Wapato WA 98951

Main Phone: (509) 877-6269
Main Fax: (509) 584-0177
https://www.wapato-city.org/municipal-court/

Yakima County District Court
Union Gap Municipal Court
128 North 2nd Street Room #225
Yakima WA 98901

Main Phone: (509) 574-1804
Main Fax: (509) 574-1801
https://www.yakimacounty.us/412/District-Court

Grandview District Court
Grandview Municipal Court
Mabton Municipal Court
1313 West Wine Country Road
Grandview WA 98930

Main Phone: (509) 882-2192
Main Fax: (509) 574-2925

Yakima County District Civil Department
Civil Phone: (509) 574-1820
Civil Fax: (509) 574-1851
https://www.yakimacounty.us/1161/Civil-Department

Yakima County District Court Probation Services
Yakima Office                                     
128 North 2nd Street Room #200
Yakima WA 98901

Main Phone: (509) 574-1860
Main Fax: (509) 574-1861

Grandview Office
1313 West Wine Country Road
Grandview WA 98930
https://www.yakimacounty.us/149/District-Court-Probation

Yakima County Superior Court Clerk’s Office
128 North 2nd Street Room 323
Yakima WA 98901

Main Phone: (509) 574-1430
https://www.yakimacounty.us/154/Clerk-of-Superior-Court

Yakima County Court Facilitator
English – (509) 574-2695
Spanish – (509) 574-1894
https://www.yakimacounty.us/497/Court-Facilitator

Yakima Municipal Court
Richard Zais Justice Center
200 South 3rd Street
Yakima WA 98901

Main Phone: (509) 575-3050
Main Fax: (509) 575-3020
https://www.yakimawa.gov/services/municipal-court/