A just-released study of the Seattle Municipal Court finds that the court should be able to process all of its caseload even after reducing the number of judges to seven (a move that was vocally opposed by presiding judge Edsonya Charles, who just lost her bid for reelection), but that doing so will require the court to change the way it schedules cases, expand its electronic records system, and streamline its business processes. The study recommends a new scheduling system that rotates four of the judges into a master calendar to do general trial work and leaves the other three judges out of the general rotation to handle domestic violence court, jail court, community and mental health courts, first appearances, DUI arraignments, and jail releases.

However, the study also found that the city is at the "tipping point" with just 12 judicial positions (seven judges, one court commissioner, and four magistrates), and that any further cuts could lead to trial delays and longer jail stays. "Consequently, the prudent course of action is to avoid further cuts to core judicial staffing in the next few years," the report says.

Many of the study's recommendations involve streamlining records ("redundant data is a sin") and moving to electronic records collection within a unified software system instead of manual records and multiple stand-alone systems for different types of cases.

Other recommendations from the report include:

• Standardizing the forms used in trials and making SPD arrest videos and 911 tapes available online to defense attorneys.

• Increase the number of cases that result in early plea bargains by giving the city attorney's office more latitude to negotiate pleas.

• Have judges share courtrooms in one part of the courthouse instead of giving each judge a dedicated courtroom.

• Creating a special docket for warrants so that warrant cases don't get stuck in a backlog once the court is cut.

• Standardizing Friday schedules so that they aren't as "widespread and hectic" as they are now; currently, the court reserves Fridays for miscellaneous cases that weren't resolved earlier in the week.

• Establishing a special task force to evaluate people's experiences with the court, including whether they feel respected, whether they think the court is trustworthy, and whether they feel the court is fair and neutral.

• Making the position of presiding court judge a four-year position rather than a two-year position and giving the presiding judge more authority to oversee the court's calendar.

Read the whole 108-page report here.