Commissioners

Pierce County

Superior Court

Duties
Seven full-time court commissioners are employed by the court. The commissioners preside over and decide matters presented in the following divisions:

A. Civil Divisions A, B and C - The commissioner hears and decides all matters brought before these divisions as set forth in PCLR 0.2C(4) and (5).

B. Juvenile Division Dependency Calendar - The commissioner hears and decides matters arising under the juvenile dependency laws, and at the request of the Juvenile Court Judge, may also hear juvenile offender matters.

C. Civil Mental Health Division - Three commissioners hear matters arising in this division as set forth in PCLR 0.2C(6), except where a trial by jury is requested. Jury trials are assigned to one of the judicial departments by the court administrator.

Civil Mental Health Division Hearings are conducted at Puget Sound Hospital, Western State Hospital and Veterans Administration Hospital. This division hears matters relating to the involuntary commitment, treatment and release of individuals alleged to be suffering from mental disorder or alcoholism.

D. Adoptions - Adoptions are held at Juvenile Hall every Friday, commencing at 9:30 a.m. the moving party shall docket these matters by filing a Note for Commissioner's Calendar.

Direction
Commissioners discharge their duties under the general direction of the Presiding Judge, except when serving in the Juvenile Court Division, during which time they are under the general direction of the Juvenile Court Judge.

Assignment Rotation of Commissioner Duties
The above duties rotate among the various commissioners in accordance with a schedule adopted by the Executive Committee. Information as to their current duty assignments can be obtained from the Court Administrator's Office. In order to expedite pending matters, a commissioner may request another commissioner to hear a matter not otherwise assigned to the latter commissioner.