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Seattle's new Connection Court: who qualifies, what it asks of defendants, and where the Council comes in

City Attorney Erika Evans is bringing back a version of community court with a 90-day condition. Public defenders support the idea but object to the eligibility rules. The Council's role is mostly the budget.

By Seattle Politics staffUpdated

Seattle City Attorney Erika Evans is rolling out Connection Court, a sentencing alternative for people charged with low-level, nonviolent misdemeanors, KUOW reported on Oct. 23. People in the program are connected to services such as addiction treatment or peer support instead of being prosecuted. To avoid prosecution, they must also go 90 days without a new offense.

It is similar to the community court that Evans' predecessor, Ann Davison, shut down, KUOW reported. The 90-day requirement is new.

For residents, Connection Court decides what happens to many cases involving offenses like criminal trespass. Those cases are often tied to homelessness and addiction, and neighbors and businesses raise them most often.

How it works

From KUOW's interview with Evans and The Stranger's reporting:

  • Who is eligible: people charged with low-level, nonviolent misdemeanors. Evans told KUOW the focus is "quality-of-life" crimes, such as criminal trespass by people who are unhoused. The Stranger reported exclusions for anyone convicted of second-degree assault within two years, and for any rape or murder conviction.
  • When it meets: every other Wednesday, with same-day connections to services, according to The Stranger.
  • What it asks: complete the assigned "engagements" and go 90 days without a new offense, and the case is dismissed. Otherwise, it is prosecuted normally. The Stranger reported the old community court used 14- or 28-day periods.
  • Who is excluded as a repeat offender: people who meet the threshold of Evans' separate High-Priority Repeat Offenses program are not eligible. KUOW reported that threshold is three offenses in three months or six in six months. HiPRO cases get recommendations for tougher sentences.

Evans said in the KUOW interview that the city should do everything it can to give people in nonviolent cases what they need, and that it will hold people accountable if they don't take that chance. According to The Stranger, she is also working with Mayor Katie Wilson to add shelter connections.

The public defenders' objections

King County's Department of Public Defense supports a therapeutic court, but it has called the eligibility rules restrictive, The Stranger reported. A special counsel for the department told the paper the rules were more restrictive than the last version of community court. The department's main objection was the 90-day period: it wanted cases to end once a person completes the engagements. It also opposes the HiPRO program. Evans told The Stranger she did not think anyone could get what they need in a single day.

What our records add: the Council's role

The City Attorney is elected separately, and Seattle Municipal Court is its own branch. We found no Council vote creating or changing Connection Court in our records. The Council's main lever is the budget, and both offices have items on Tuesday's Select Budget Committee agenda:

  • City Attorney's Office (agenda item): Dionne Foster's $1 million one-time proposal to clear part of a 5,000-case backlog, plus Robert Kettle's proposals for four permanent prosecutors and $277,000 a year for toxicology testing and witness travel, per the packet. We break those down in Seattle's 5,000-case prosecution backlog.
  • Seattle Municipal Court (agenda item): Kettle's SMC-001, with Rob Saka and Dan Strauss, would restore two vacant court positions the mayor's budget cuts, at about $410,000 a year, per the court packet.

Earlier oversight. The Public Safety Committee heard a City Attorney's Office briefing on "new public safety tools" on Sept. 9, 2025 (Inf 2729). That was under Davison. KUOW reported that Evans has criticized Davison's High Utilizer Initiative, which flagged people with 12 misdemeanor referrals over five years.

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