Are ex parte actions included in the "Total Proceedings" of the Caseload statistics?
Docketing ex parte actions under EXOACT (Ex Parte Action Without Order) and EXWACT (Ex Parte Action With Order) are counted on the monthly SCOMIS Caseload Reports that appear in counties' Print Domains. Counts for these codes are also available through a BIT query. These docket codes are NOT counted in the Total Proceedings count in the Caseload Statistics.
Ex parte actions are an exception to Caseload reporting, in that each county can decide whether or not to record ex parte actions and have them counted.
Because docketing ex parte actions is optional (by county), ex parte action counts are not published on the web. This ensures "apples are compared to apples" when considering total proceeding figures across more than one county. That is, a court's ex parte figures are available for their own local use, but they are separate from (and not included in) the "Total Proceedings" figures. Omitting ex parte action counts retains accurate comparisons between courts regarding "Total Proceedings," regardless of the courts' choice to count or not to count ex-parte actions.
See also:
- The Caseloads of the Courts of Washington page of the Washington Courts Web site for the published Caseload Reports.
- Ex Parte Actions in Superior Court
RN id: 1744