County signs interagency agreement to handle resentencing and vacate orders after State v. Blake, staff warn reimbursement may lag

County legal and court staff briefed commissioners on an interagency agreement with the Washington Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) that will fund county work tied to vacating and resentencing cases affected by the Washington Supreme Court’s State v. Blake decision.

Court staff described the work as required: the county will process vacate orders and resentencing for impacted cases. Staff told the board that AOC allocated $7,648 for the county’s extra work in the current contract year; court staff said that figure was likely insufficient given staff time and that AOC indicated some ability to negotiate for more funds if money remains in the AOC budget.

Nikki (court staff) provided case-count estimates: “we estimate we’ve addressed 771 cases, but that’s only about 32 percent of the cases that have been affected by Blake,” she told the board. She said the county’s total list was just over 2,300 cases and that progress varies because some matters do not require action or the impacted people are deceased.

Why it matters: processing vacate and resentencing orders is a legal obligation that imposes staffing costs. County staff told the board that even if the AOC reimbursement does not cover full costs, the county must complete the work.

Next steps: staff said they will sign the interagency agreement through the regular meeting process and continue to pursue additional AOC reimbursement if more funds are available. The board discussed ongoing labor-negotiation executive sessions and coordination with public defenders and prosecutors as the caseload evolves.