205 W 5th Ave Ellensburg, WA 98926-2887
Monday - Friday 8 AM - 5 PM
Kittitas (pronounced 'KITT-i-tass') County is located in central Washington State. It spans from the lush forested Cascade Mountains to the upper Yakima River Valley plains and the Columbia River.
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Local court rules have been amended and will go into affect on the September 1, 2019. The complete language is published below, or you can download a PDF version.
By this rule the Kittitas County Superior Court hereby adopts standards for the delivery of public defender services consistent with RCW 10.101.030 and Kittitas County Code 2.09 et. seq.
The moving party shall serve and file all motion documents no later than six court days before the date the party wishes the motion to be considered. Any party opposing a motion shall file and serve the original responsive papers in opposition to a motion, serve copies on parties, and deliver working copies to the hearing judge no later than 12:00 pm (noon) two court days before the date the motion is to be considered. All documents in strict reply shall be similarly filed and served no later than 12:00 pm (noon) on the court day before the hearing.
Unless good cause is shown, all peremptory challenges shall be exercised in open Court at the side bar by marking the challenged juror's name on a form to be provided by the Court.
If attorney fees or costs have been awarded, the prevailing party must itemize via affidavit the time expended, services rendered, or other detailed bases for the fees and costs requested and attach a copy thereof to the proposed order granting fees and costs.
Summary judgments require special settings and should be noted to be heard before the judge who is assigned to hear the trial. Motions and affidavits, and reply and response affidavits, must be filed in the manner and within the time limitations of CR 56. Working copies shall be provided to the judge. On any motion for summary judgment, counsel for movant is required to call the Court Administrator two business days prior to the date set for hearing to confirm that the motion will be heard.
A motion for new trial, reconsideration, or amendment/alteration of judgment shall be submitted on briefs and affidavits of the moving party only, without response or oral argument to the trial judge by the opposing party. The trial judge shall, within 10 days, either deny the motion or advise both counsel of desired further proceedings pursuant to CR 59 and this rule. A motion under this rule shall be filed with the Clerk and a working copy shall be served on the trial judge at the Superior Court office at the time of the filing of the motion. A copy shall also be served on opposing counsel.
A court reporter will not be provided for any matter heard in Kittitas County Superior Court. All matters will be digitally audio-recorded. If any party wishes any matter to be reported by a court reporter, that party is responsible to provide a court reporter.
Page Limitations. Absent prior authorization of the court, the entirety of all declarations and affidavits from the parties and non-expert witnesses in support of motions (except financial declarations, financial documents and sealed source documents), shall be limited to a sum total of twenty (20) pages.
The entirety of all declarations and affidavits submitted in response to motions shall not exceed twenty (20) pages.
The entirety of all declarations and affidavits submitted in reply to the response shall not exceed ten (10).
Exhibits to any declarations shall count toward the above page limits.
Declarations, affidavits and reports from the GAL, CPS or law enforcement shall not count toward the page limit. Declarations in support of Parenting Plans shall not count toward the page limit but shall not exceed three (3) pages.
The Court Administrator maintains and administers the Title 11 and 26 Guardian Ad Litem Registry. Contact the Superior Court Administrator for appointments.
Each criminal defendant shall be required to attend all scheduled pretrial hearings, including the omnibus hearing, the 3.5/3/6 hearing and the status conference, unless excused by the court.
Every criminal case shall be set for a status conference prior to trial to determine whether a scheduled case is still on track for trial.
Motions in limine shall be filed and served at or before the date set for status conference. Motions in limine requiring extensive argument or testimony shall be heard on the date set for the pretrial hearing or by leave of the court through the Court Administrator.
Exhibit A - Note for Motion Docket
Exhibit B - Note for Trial Setting Civil
Exhibit C - Note for Trial Setting Domestic Relations
Exhibit D - Order on Restrictions