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About Community Court
Facts and Statistics
Information for Defendants
- Eligibility
- Sentencing
Community Court Newsletter
Mentor Site Information




Information for Defendants

Seattle Community Court is a voluntary program designed to help you by giving you the opportunity to perform community service rather than serve jail time. Once you enter the program, you will also be required to contact social service providers that can help you with financial assistance, employment, housing, substance abuse treatment, counseling and veteran's services. We want you to make a connection with these services so you know what's available to help you.

Community Court Eligibility

You may be eligible for Community Court if you meet the eligibility requirements. For more information, please contact your attorney or, if you are not currently represented, you can contact Nancy Waldman with the Associated Counsel for the Accused (ACA) at (206) 624-8105 ext. 294, or by email at nancy.waldman@acapd.org.

"I feel that the Community Court program was very positive and useful for me. I got to help clean up the area and it made me see what the streets are all about. I really want to change." - Community Court Participant


Community Court Programs

First time offenders may be able to enter the Pre-trial Diversion program, where you agree to complete eight hours of community service and stay out of trouble for 90 days.

If you are a repeat offender with previous criminal history, you will appear in Community Court before the judge, who will encourage you to seek assistance which can help you. You will need to complete your community service hours and make your social services contacts within 30 days, when you will again come to court for your review. If you are successful, the judge will give you a signed certificate. In some cases, you may have your case dismissed.

Community Service

You will be assigned to perform community service within the Seattle City limits at one of the many Community Court neighborhood sites. For example, you may be part of a clean-up crew on city streets, help out at a food bank, plant a traffic circle, build a trail or remove invasive plants along an urban creek. Everyone in the community has expressed appreciation for the kind of things our Community Court participants accomplish!

Community service crew cleaning up a street in the Colman Neighborhood
Cleaning up a street in the Colman Neighborhood