Searching the Colfax Court Docket
Start at the official Colfax Municipal Court page. It points anyone asking “When is my court date?” to Washington Courts Find My Court Date. For a wider case lookup, the state District and Municipal Court Case Search works too; just pick Colfax Municipal Court from the court list. Enter the full case number if you have it. Otherwise narrow things down by court, case type, filing year, last name, and first name. Finish the verification control before you submit.
- Read the ticket or notice and identify Colfax Municipal, Whitman District, or Whitman Superior Court.
- For a city case, choose Colfax Municipal Court in the statewide limited-jurisdiction search.
- Enter the case number, or use the name, case type, and filing-year fields.
- Review the newest appearance and case-activity lines instead of relying on an old setting.
- Call the court administrator when a case, date, or filed image is missing.
The state cautions users about lag. Data can post about 24 hours after clerk entry, and it may be incomplete. So a blank result means check your spelling and court choice, not that no case exists.
Colfax Municipal Court at City Hall
The City of Colfax location page names the address. Municipal Court meets inside City Hall at 400 N Mill Street, Colfax, WA 99111. Blue Municipal Court signs mark the courtroom at the building's north end. City Hall shares space with administration, police, fire, and ambulance services. That sets it apart from the county court offices. Those sit over on North Main Street. The city's own location listing supplies the building details a visitor needs to reach the Colfax courtroom.
The court's office hours run every Tuesday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For general contact, the court page lists 509-397-3861 and court@colfaxwa.org.
Colfax Municipal Court Basics
Of Whitman County's five largest cities, Colfax alone lists a municipal court of its own. It hears city traffic infractions. Criminal and gross misdemeanor cases land there too. So do civil vehicle-impound hearings. Small claims, general civil, name changes, and passports fall outside its docket. Judge Lindsi Alcantar presides, with Kris Thompson as Court Administrator. The city court page lays out that jurisdiction. It also points to the state court-date search. That makes it the natural place to check whether a Colfax ticket belongs to the city court or District Court. The administrator's listed cell is 509-288-1834, and the court fax is 509-397-3044. Route questions about case files, settings, and procedure to the general court contact.
Colfax Court Meets Twice Monthly
Court usually falls on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. That's per the Colfax procedures page. That rhythm explains why city docket settings cluster on certain weeks. Still, your individual notice controls. Holidays, continuances, and court orders can move a date. The city's procedure page also covers the courtroom rules.
Inside the Colfax courtroom, phones must be off. Photography and audio recording are prohibited, and no food or drink is allowed. Keep in mind these are city building and proceeding rules, not statewide docket-access limits.
Court Dates and Settings in Colfax
Find My Court Date needs a few things. It asks for the court, first name, last name, and a CAPTCHA or other verification. Select Colfax Municipal Court for a city case. An upcoming appearance may display above the summary and case activity. If nothing shows, call 509-397-3861 with your citation or case number ready.
| Date | Compare the latest docket event with the paper notice and any continuance. |
|---|---|
| Time | Confirm the time for the specific hearing, not merely the court's Tuesday office hours. |
| Courtroom | Municipal Court sits at the north end of Colfax City Hall. |
| Judge | Official city materials identify Judge Lindsi Alcantar. |
| Setting type | The entry may identify arraignment, pretrial, status, mitigation, contested hearing, plea, sentencing, or trial. |
A pretrial conference aims to settle or narrow a criminal matter before trial. A mitigation hearing admits the infraction but asks the judge to weigh the circumstances. A contested hearing asks the judge to decide whether the infraction happened at all.
The Colfax 15-Day Response Rule
Colfax's published procedure gives you 15 days to respond to an infraction. You can pay, request mitigation, or request a contested hearing by following the notice. Ignore the deadline and the consequences stack up: an order that the infraction was committed, a $52 late penalty, a possible license-suspension process, and collection assignment.
A late fee is not a new hearing date. If the response period was missed, contact Colfax Municipal Court and check the live case activity before deciding what must happen next.
Live more than 60 miles away or facing an extreme hardship? The city procedure lets you request mitigation by mail. Contested Colfax cases, though, must be handled in person per the published page.
Traffic Tickets in Colfax
A ticket naming Colfax Municipal Court belongs in the city court search, not Odyssey. Search the statewide limited-jurisdiction system. Use a court plus a name or case number. The city accepts payment online, by mail, or at the office. Use the citation or case information on the ticket. Call the administrator when the online payment view leaves a docket question unanswered. Payment creates a disposition or financial entry. A paid balance alone doesn't show the full court activity. The Whitman County traffic ticket resource separates the court case record from other records. It also covers county-level channels. For Colfax deadlines, rely on the city procedure and the ticket itself.
Colfax Deferral on the Docket
Colfax allows deferrals for eligible drivers. The city pamphlet sets the terms. One moving and one nonmoving deferral are allowed in seven years, and the cost is the full fine plus a $75 fee. You then need six months with no new violation. Meet those conditions and the dismissal follows automatically. To apply, complete the ticket and deferral request and return them as the city directs.
A granted deferral is not a same-day ending. The Colfax court docket may list the request, the order, the compliance stretch, and the dismissal or other result that comes later. Look at the final event, not the first. The signed order controls. Since the pamphlet is not the court, confirm eligibility and current amounts with the city court before you rely on it.
Where Colfax Cases Go
Colfax Municipal Court handles only city matters. Anything bigger goes elsewhere in Whitman County. Small claims up to $5,000, anti-harassment orders, civil actions up to $75,000, and name changes all belong at Whitman County District Court. Civil actions above $75,000, felonies, and family-home or custody-related protection petitions go to Whitman County Superior Court instead.
Docket flow: Colfax Municipal Court › Whitman County District Court or appeal › Whitman County Superior Court
The split is not automatic for every case. Misdemeanors can stay in Municipal Court. Felonies start in Superior Court. Check the court name on the paperwork, and turn to the Whitman County court docket only when the Colfax case truly sits at the county level.
A Colfax Appeal Goes to Superior Court
Appeals from Colfax Municipal Court go up one level. The city says a contested judgment may be appealed to Whitman County Superior Court, with notice filed within 30 days. Superior Court then reviews the municipal record that already exists; no new trial takes place. The Colfax docket may show a notice of appeal. Transfer activity may appear there too. Odyssey may then list a Superior Court appeal number or the lower-court record. The filing fee is a moving target. An older city page put it at $200. The Whitman County Clerk schedule effective June 11, 2026 lists $280 for an appeal from a court of limited jurisdiction. Those two figures come from different dates. Call the County Clerk at 509-397-6240 and confirm the current fee before you file.
Requesting a Colfax Court File
Start with the court itself. For a filed Colfax Municipal Court document or a certified municipal copy, contact Court Administrator Kris Thompson at 509-397-3861 or court@colfaxwa.org. The city takes written public-information requests by hand delivery, mail, email, fax, or letter. It also provides a form. Still, a court case file should go to the court administrator first.
Ask for a record, not everything about a person. A solid Colfax request names the municipal case or citation number. It should also name the party, the approximate filing date, and the exact item, such as a judgment, deferral order, notice of setting, or docket activity. Say whether you need a plain inspection copy or a certified one. Remember that the online summary can show a paper was entered without ever showing its image.
Route each request to the right office. District Court files belong to Whitman County District Court. Superior Court case records and certifications belong to the Whitman County Clerk. State case-search data is only a public index. It does not promise the complaint, order, judgment, or other image. A city public-records form may reach administrative records. But direct court contact is the sound route for a Municipal Court case file.
Colfax Court Record Access Rules
Washington GR 31 presumes the public can see court records. Limits come from privacy rules, statutes, and court orders. GR 15 governs sealing and redaction. GR 22 shields sensitive family, protection-order, guardianship, and therapeutic-court material. So a Colfax court docket can list an event. The filed image or a personal identifier may still stay out of view.
The Washington Public Records Act is not the right route for court case documents. Ask the court that keeps the record. Sealed material stays closed at the counter and online alike. Before relying on a setting or disposition, verify statewide search information with Colfax Municipal Court.