Seattle city attorney details plan to reduce criminal case backlog

SEATTLE — Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison has announced plans to eliminate the city’s criminal case backlog by the end of the year.

Davison’s plan began with the hiring of nine prosecutors since the year began.

Filling support staff positions will remain a priority.

“My number one priority is improving public safety. Seattleites should feel safe walking down the street or going to the park. My early actions to implement five-day filing and create a High-Utilizer Initiative to address frequent offenders were first steps to disrupt the culture of crime in Seattle,” Davison said. “Following recommendations from former U.S. Attorney Brian Moran, today’s plan will eliminate the backlog by the end of the year. We will also improve the processes of the Criminal Division to prevent another miscarriage of justice like this backlog.”

Davison hopes the plan to combine staff resources will build the capacity to review about 300 backlogged cases each month.

Davison’s office will also ask for a supplemental budget to fund additional staff until the backlog is eliminated.

Crimes against people, like domestic violence and assaults with sexual motivation, will have the highest priority in the office, followed by firearm crimes and DUIs.

Davison’s office noted that some backlogged cases will be declined, including those involving property destruction, theft, criminal trespass and non-DUI traffic offenses.

Additional cases that have passed the statute of limitations will also be declined.

The office expects to decline over 1,921 backlogged cases -- where the longest case has been sitting for over two years.

In January, the criminal division had nearly 5,000 backlogged cases, causing victims to wait up to two years for a response to a police referral.

Davison’s office said the backlog they inherited from the previous administration was the largest in their office’s history.

“The actions announced today are in line with my backlog assessments and recommendations to modernize the office’s prosecutorial approach,” said former U.S. Attorney Brian Moran. “The public expects, demands, and deserves more, and the backlog – the likes of which I have not seen before in my 30-year career – that City Attorney Ann Davison inherited cannot occur again. The City Attorney’s Office staff are dedicated professionals who care deeply about the public they serve, the mission, and the role they play in accomplishing it. With their new direction and leadership, I am optimistic that they will accomplish the hard task of eliminating the backlog.”

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