Since March of 2020, Cowlitz County has been challenged in an unprecedented way as the COVID-19 pandemic has raced across our community. Fear, concern, and disruption has touched us all.The Courts have been no exception to this struggle as we grapple with the constitutional mandate of providing access to the courts and at the same time making sure ...

TO: Court Stakeholders FROM: Honorable Gary B. Bashor, Presiding Judge DATE: July 27, 2021 RE :In Person / Hybrid Dockets – Effective August 2, 2021 In our continued effort to get back to normal, we are beginning to take substantive steps forward to move more hearings to in-person. All of these decisions are contingent on current infection rates in...

Sometime Thursday (7/15) afternoon, the Court lost access to our electronic court files due to a Statewide Network problem. Today we learned that the lines are in the process of being repaired, however we do not at this time have an ETA for operability. We will ONLY be conducting criminal and juvenile first appearances, involuntary treatment hearin...

 On June 30, 2021, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee made a decision to lift many of the public health mitigation strategies as the State of Washington moves closer to being fully re-opened. Cowlitz County's most recent two-week COVID-19 case incidence rate is 174 cases/100,000 population.51 percent of Cowlitz County residents 16 years...

 To: Criminal Bar From: Marilyn K. Haan, Assistant Presiding Judge Date: 6/24/2021 Re: Bond/Detention of Defendant Upon Plea There still seems to be confusion about what happens to a defendant when they plead guilty. For reference, please see RCW 10.64.025 as follows (as well as see State v. French, 88 Wash. App 586, 945 P.2d 752 (Div 2 1997) ...

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