By Richard Eadie
On September 19, Judge Bruce Hilyer will transfer from the Criminal Division in the King County Courthouse to the Criminal Division at the Regional Justice Center in Kent. At the same time, Judge Douglas McBroom will make the change from Criminal Division at the RJC to Criminal Division, King County Courthouse, and will be assigned to Judge Hilyer’s former courtroom, W-965. Judge McBroom will assume Judge Hilyer’s present civil caseload and Judge Hilyer will assume Judge McBroom’s.
We will have a few more judicial rotation assignments to announce in the next issue of the Bar Bulletin, most of which will be effective January 1, 2006. We see a lot of motions that are directed to the former judge of a civil case even after a notice of change of judge has been sent to all parties. Please ask your staff to be alert to notices of change of judge for your civil cases and make sure the change gets on your calendaring system.
Please also note the recent change in the law regarding the requirement of notice, particularly in cases of default, when the defendant is or may be serving in the military. The Department of Judicial Administration (the Clerk’s Office) is issuing the following notice:
Military Service Members Civil Relief Act (SHB 2173; Chapter 254, Laws of 2005)
The state legislature passed SHB 2173, effective May 3, 2005, which provides additional protections to service members and their families in all civil cases, including family law. This statute supplements the Federal Service Members Civil Relief Act. The court is finding that many attorneys are unaware of this statute and consequently the Ex Parte Department has to reject many mail-in motions for default.
According to the statute, in any civil action or proceeding where the defendant has failed to make an appearance, the court, before entering judgment for plaintiff, shall require the plaintiff to file with the court an affidavit stating whether the defendant is in military service or is a dependent of a service member in military service and showing necessary facts to support the affidavit OR if the plaintiff is unable to deatermine such, stating that the plaintiff is unable to determine whether the defendant is in military service or is a dependent of a service member in military service.
If it appears that the defendant is in military service or is a dependent of a service member in military service, the court may not enter a judgment until after the court appoints an attorney for the defendant and may be required to enter a stay of proceedings.
“Judgments” do not include temporary orders entered in domestic relations cases under Title 26 RCW. “Military service” means a service member under a call to active service authorized by the President of the United States or the Secretary of Defense for a period of more than 30 consecutive days. “Dependents” are defined to include the service member’s spouse, any minor children and any individual for whom the service member provided more than one-half of the individual’s support for 180 days immediately preceding an application for relief.
For more information on this issue, please contact Sandy Nelson at 206-205-0518. n
Richard Eadie is the Presiding Judge of the King County Superior Court.
