Spokane Valley Bench Warrants
Spokane Valley bench warrants are court orders signed by a judge when a person fails to appear in court or skips a step in a Spokane County criminal or traffic case. The City of Spokane Valley sits in Spokane County just east of the City of Spokane and contracts out most court services. Spokane Valley cases are handled through the Spokane County District Court system and the Spokane Municipal Court system. You can search for an active bench warrant or outstanding warrant in Spokane Valley by name through the state data warehouse and the county portals.
Spokane Valley Court System
Spokane Valley does not run its own stand alone full criminal municipal court. Most cases tied to the city run through Spokane County District Court for misdemeanors and traffic, and through Spokane County Superior Court for felonies. The judge can issue a bench warrant under CrR 2.2 or CrRLJ 2.2 when a person fails to appear. The warrant stays active until the person is arrested, posts bail, or asks the court to quash it.
You can also search the Spokane Municipal Court eCourt Portal, since some Spokane Valley area cases tie into that system. The portal lets the public look up dockets, court dates, and warrant status by name.
The state data warehouse is the broadest free way to look up a Spokane Valley bench warrant.
The data warehouse pulls Spokane Valley court files into one statewide search.
Spokane County Bench Warrant Tools
Spokane County is the host for most Spokane Valley court records. Felony bench warrants live in the superior court file. Misdemeanor warrants live in the district court file. The county clerk feeds case data into the state portals so a name search will pick up most warrants.
Visit the Spokane County bench warrants page for the county side of the search. From there you can reach the county district court and superior court tools.
The Washington Courts directory lists every court in Spokane County. Use it to find clerk phone and address info if you need to call about a Spokane Valley warrant.
Note: Most Spokane Valley criminal warrants live in the Spokane County District Court file system, not in a city court file.
Quashing a Spokane Valley Bench Warrant
If a Spokane Valley bench warrant comes back in your name, do not wait. Most warrants can be cleared. The first step is to talk to a lawyer. Then file a motion to quash with the court that issued the warrant.
The motion asks the judge to recall the warrant and reset the case for a new hearing date. The judge may set bail or just give you a new court date. The state forms page has the standard motion you can use.
You can pull a quash motion from the Washington Courts forms page.
The forms page holds the motions used to clear a Spokane Valley bench warrant.
Bring photo ID when you visit the clerk in Spokane.
DOC Warrant Search for Spokane Valley
Some Spokane Valley warrants are run by the Washington Department of Corrections. The DOC handles people on community custody who broke the rules of their release under RCW 9.94A.716, which you can read at apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw.
Start at the DOC warrant search. You can also see the wanted and absconder list. Both tools are free.
The DOC warrant tool is the main starting point for Spokane Valley area community custody warrants.
The DOC search lists Spokane Valley area people with active community custody warrants.
WATCH Criminal History for Spokane Valley
The Washington State Patrol runs a tool called WATCH. It is a name based search of the state's criminal history system. WATCH does not show every bench warrant, but it does show conviction data and some active case info that can help confirm a person's record.
You can reach WATCH at fortress.wa.gov/wsp/watch. There is a small fee for a full record check.
Visit the WSP WATCH portal to start a name based check.
WATCH lets the public run a name search of the state criminal history system, including Spokane Valley records.
Note: A Spokane Valley bench warrant search is free and does not require ID for a basic name lookup.
Public Access in Spokane Valley
Most Spokane Valley court records are public under GR 31 and the Public Records Act in RCW 42.56. Bench warrant data is part of the case file, so most of it is open to the public. Sealed cases and juvenile warrants do not show.
You do not need to give a reason for a basic name search. The clerk can tell you if a case is sealed. The Odyssey portal at odysseyportal.courts.wa.gov is another route into Spokane Valley area court files.