Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Pretrial Grant topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Judge Leland wins $7,100 AOC pretrial grant, plans county-wide pretrial education and cross-agency change sessions
Summary
A district court judge described a $7,100 Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) pretrial grant to produce educational videos and convene regional experts; the judge said the project’s principal benefit may be improving cross-agency communication and change management across the criminal-justice system.
Judge Leland told Spokane County commissioners that the district court won a small AOC pretrial grant of $7,100 and plans to use the funds to produce videos and other materials explaining pretrial processes and help spark cross-agency conversations about change management in criminal justice.
“We won the lottery. We got $7,100,” Leland said, describing himself as the last applicant who pursued the competitive grant. The judge said the funds are being used to hire an intern, create videos to help people with limited literacy or unfamiliarity navigate the court record and to invite two to three national experts to speak about pretrial practice and organizational change.
Why it matters: the judge emphasized the grant’s value not only for the videos but as a catalyst to break down silos among county departments — prosecutor, public defender, pretrial services, sheriff and other partners — and to prepare staff for an anticipated new facility and other changes.
Details: Leland said the AOC is interested in the project and that the county’s materials will be designed so they can be reused across the state. He said county staff in human resources and communications have helped and that the court intends to keep costs modest and look for student/intern resources at local colleges where feasible.
Board response: commissioners supported the project and discussed aligning grant administration with county policy on indirect costs; the judge said the court will absorb some indirect costs but would like to be billed promptly if the county charges for HR or IT support so the court can accommodate the expense in its small grant.
Ending: Judge Leland said the materials will be available on the county website by July 1 and that he will follow up with commissioners individually about next steps to support cross-agency collaboration.
