Seattle is deciding this week whether to spend $1 million to clear a backlog of roughly 5,000 criminal cases sitting unreviewed in the City Attorney's Office — cases in which no one has yet decided whether to file charges or drop them, and in which some victims have waited up to two years for an answer.
Source: Seattle City Council
The proposal, submitted by Councilmember Dionne Foster (Position 9) in partnership with City Attorney Erika Evans as an amendment to the city's 2027–28 budget, would fund temporary staffing and contracts with local law firms, working under the City Attorney's supervision, to work through the estimated 5,000 cases.
Source: Seattle City Council
The first priority would be the cases that involve people, not paperwork: an estimated 1,700 cases — about 33 percent of the backlog — involve domestic violence allegations, alongside elder abuse, assault, stalking and sexual harassment. Another 830 cases (16 percent) involve criminal traffic violations and 715 (14 percent) involve harassment, according to the City Attorney's Office figures published by the council.
Source: Seattle City Council
A case in the backlog is not filed and not dismissed — it is in limbo. Survivors do not know whether the person who hurt them will face court, defendants do not know whether a charge is coming, and witnesses' memories fade while everyone waits.
What the officials behind it say
“More than 1,700 cases involving domestic violence are currently sitting unreviewed, and no one should have to put their lives on hold while government catches up,” Foster said. “When we fail to act, we erode the public's faith that government will protect our residents and stand behind them when it matters most.”
Source: Seattle City Council
Evans, who describes the backlog as inherited, said: “No victim or survivor should have to wait up to two years for their case to be filed on. That is why I am grateful to Councilmember Dionne Foster for recognizing the urgency and proposing a budget investment that will improve public safety and provide swifter justice for the people of Seattle.”
Source: Seattle City Council
Advocates who work with survivors backed the plan. Kate Garvey, CEO of the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center, said her organisation works with thousands of victims a year who wait months and often years for resolution, and that long delays add to distress and can push survivors to disengage from their own cases.
Source: Seattle City Council
How a city builds a 5,000-case backlog
The council says the backlog is a longstanding problem that has persisted across three City Attorney administrations. It grew before August 2019, shifted during pandemic court closures and rose sharply by early 2022, according to the City Attorney's data summarised in reporting on the proposal. Each case now also carries far more evidence to review than it once did, and assistant city prosecutors carry consistently high caseloads.
Source: Seattle Times via Hyperlocal News
Seattle's City Attorney handles misdemeanours and gross misdemeanours — the cases the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office does not — including DUI, minor assault, domestic violence, theft and trespassing. Seattle Municipal Court can impose up to 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine for a gross misdemeanour.
Source: Seattle Times via Hyperlocal News
The exact size of the pile is itself disputed. Evans' office counts roughly 5,000 cases including nearly 400 DUI cases that have been reviewed but not filed because of delays at the state toxicology lab; her predecessor's office did not count that category, putting its leaving figure between about 4,700 and 5,100 depending on the definition.
Source: Seattle Times via Hyperlocal News
The rival plans on the table
Foster's one-time push is not the only option councilmembers are weighing. Others have proposed permanent funding for four new assistant city attorneys, at about $562,000 in 2027 and $715,000 in 2028, and a separate proposal would add about $277,000 a year for toxicology testing and witness travel — the lab delays that hold up DUI filings.
Source: Seattle Times via Hyperlocal News
Evans' office is also reorganising how it works: one prosecutor would handle each domestic-violence case from first review through sentencing, and a separate DUI team is being created, according to reporting on the budget discussions.
Source: Seattle Times via Hyperlocal News
What happens next
The council's budget committee has been discussing the amendments since briefings began on October 27. The committee chair is expected to present a consolidated package of decisions on November 4, and a public hearing is scheduled for November 5, where residents can speak for or against the proposals.
Source: Seattle City Council
For the roughly 1,700 domestic-violence survivors at the front of the queue, the vote will decide whether their cases get a decision in the coming months — or stay in the pile for another budget cycle.