A small corner of the American system of jurisprudence, small claims court is the low cost, lawyerless alternative that is open to anyone who can afford the filing fee, averaging $20.
Landlord-tenant, auto-repair, property damage, roommate loans make up the bread and butter of the calendar.
“Everyone comes to court with the strong belief they are right,” says South Snohomish County District Court Judge Timothy P. Ryan.
Ryan’s counterpart, Shoreline District Court Judge Douglas J. Smith, thinks that there is one other component to the plaintiffs and defendants he sees. “They all want to vent and be told that they are correct.”
In the end, Smith says, the joke among judges is that you lose two votes at every trial.
“If someone loses they are not happy and if they win, the don’t think they got all that they should have.”
While the types of cases and the people involved are similar, the way cases are treated in each court are quite different.
In South District Court in Lynnwood, cases filed against defendants living in an area stretching across Edmonds, Lynnwood, Brier, Woodway, Mill Creek and Mountlake Terrace, face an initial process of arbitration outside of the courts. It is part of the Snohomish County court system.
All parties must sit down with a trained arbitrator from the Volunteers of America to attempt to resolve a case before it takes up court time.
“We have had great success with the program,” Ryan said. South District Court is one of the few in the state to use the program. “We resolve about 70 percent of our cases this way.”
The court averages about 800 small claims cases a year.
In Shoreline District Court, part if the King County court system and covers North King County from Puget Sound to Bothell, a mediator makes a pre-trial presentation and offers parties a similar arrangement. On a recent day, only one case was willing to go to mediation while half a dozen others wanted to see the judge.
“The judges that use arbitration say that is resolves 80 percent of the cases pre-trial,” Smith said. “But I have yet to see it happen. We get one or two a week.”
Those cases that go to mediation or arbitration in either case can be returned for trial if the parties are unable to reach an agreement.
South District Court adds one other requirement to cases within its jurisdiction, the legal process of discovery.
Discovery means that each party must provide the other with the supporting documents for its case, eliminating trial day surprises. According to Ryan, it also may bring a sense of reality to some parties.
“There is a fairly high standard to the burden of proof that proves who owes how much and to whom,” he said. “When they see the case in front of them, they suddenly realize that their feelings of being right may not carry the day.”
State law limits the monetary value of a small claims case to $4,000. The raising of that limit a few years ago by the state Legislature, combined with television, is driving the number of cases, according to Smith.
“We used to see four or five cases a week,” he said. “Now we see 10 or more.”
A few weeks ago, Smith even found case files passing through his hands stamped “approved by Judge Judy.”
A plaintiff had his case accepted by the syndicated program, only to be rejected when his felony past came to light. He now sought relief in a real court.
In an environment that bars bringing a lawyer into the courtroom, much of the judge’s time is spent guiding the parties through the process and keeping the proceedings on track.
A day in the Shoreline court saw Smith admonishing people about the need to follow proper procedure and reminding them that their friend’s health, parents financial state or the boorishness of the other party ultimately have little to do with the facts of the case.
“People need to come prepared, bring witnesses or experts to back up their case,” said Smith.
While there are cases where individuals come to court ready and willing to proceed as if they were Perry Mason incarnate, judges seem to agree that most people are much more themselves than not.
“They are average people who are nervous,” Ryan said. “They are not familiar with the court and just want to do the best they can to present their issues.”
Smith actually frowns on the amateur lawyers in court.
“I see those boxes of documents and files and counterclaims,” he said. “Those cases move to the back of the line.”
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