Dayton is both the county seat and the only real town in Columbia County, and both of its trial courts sit in the historic courthouse at 341 E Main St. Columbia County Superior Court takes felonies. Columbia County District Court takes misdemeanors, gross misdemeanors and infractions, including cases from the city of Dayton, which has no municipal court. The Columbia County Prosecuting Attorney brings the charges. The county jail in Dayton stopped taking prisoners in March 2023, so people arrested here are driven to the Walla Walla County Jail, about 30 miles west. Release terms or bail are set by a Columbia County judge, usually over a video link.

• Columbia County Superior Court and County Clerk, 341 E Main St, Suite 2, Dayton, WA 99328, (509) 382-4321
• Columbia County District Court, 341 E Main St, Suite 4, Dayton, WA 99328, (509) 382-4812
• Columbia County Prosecuting Attorney, 341 E Main St, Suite 5, Dayton, (509) 382-1197
• Columbia County Sheriff's Office, 341 E Main St, Dayton, (509) 382-1100
• Walla Walla County Jail (holds Columbia County prisoners), 300 W Alder St, Walla Walla, (509) 524-5431
• Public defense (county-contracted attorneys), request through District Court, (509) 382-4812, or the Superior Court clerk, (509) 382-4321
• Juvenile Justice Center (serves Columbia and Walla Walla counties), 455 W Rose St, Walla Walla, (509) 524-2800

Which court hears your case. Tickets and misdemeanor charges from anywhere in the county go to District Court in Suite 4 of the courthouse. That covers the Sheriff's deputies, the State Patrol on U.S. 12 and cases inside Dayton city limits. Felonies are filed with the Superior Court in Suite 2. The Superior Court judge is shared with Asotin and Garfield counties, and court is held in Dayton on scheduled days. Columbia County youth cases go to the juvenile court that Columbia shares with Walla Walla County, based at the Juvenile Justice Center in Walla Walla.

Where pretrial inmates are held. Columbia County has no working jail. The Sheriff closed the cells in the Dayton courthouse in 2023, pointing to safety concerns and lawsuits against other small rural jails. Since then, deputies have booked arrestees into the Walla Walla County Jail at 300 W Alder St and drive them back to Dayton for hearings, unless the hearing is held by video. The same arrangement covers prisoners arrested by deputies on patrol in Dayton. For questions about a specific inmate, call the Walla Walla jail, (509) 524-5431, or the Columbia County Sheriff, (509) 382-1100.

The county has about 4,000 residents and just two courts, both inside the Dayton courthouse. Neither Dayton nor Starbuck runs a municipal court. The state directory points Dayton's city cases to District Court, and Starbuck's are typically heard there too.

Courts

• Columbia County Superior Court, 341 E Main St, Suite 2, Dayton, (509) 382-4321. Felony trials, juvenile matters and appeals from District Court. The judge rotates among Columbia, Garfield and Asotin counties, and commissioners help with the calendar.
• Columbia County Clerk, same suite and phone. Keeps felony files and receipts payments ordered in Superior Court.
• Columbia County District Court, 341 E Main St, Suite 4, Dayton, (509) 382-4812. County and Dayton misdemeanors, DUI, traffic infractions, protection orders and small claims.
• Dayton and Starbuck: no city court; see District Court above.

Prosecution, defense, police and juvenile intake

• Columbia County Prosecuting Attorney, 341 E Main St, Suite 5, Dayton, (509) 382-1197. Handles both felonies and District Court cases.
• Public defense: Columbia County has no public defender office. It contracts with one private firm (two lawyers) and one additional attorney, and the judge assigns one of them to anyone who qualifies. The District Court clerk, (509) 382-4812, can tell you who was appointed.
• Columbia County Sheriff's Office, 341 E Main St, Dayton, (509) 382-1100. Patrols the county and also provides police service inside Dayton under a contract with the city.
• Juvenile intake and probation: handled for Columbia County by the shared center on Rose Street in Walla Walla, (509) 524-2800

Because every jail bed is in another county, deputies here often cite and release for minor offenses instead of making the drive. Domestic violence assaults, DUI with aggravating facts and warrant arrests usually mean a trip to the Walla Walla County Jail on Alder Street.

First hearing

A person held in custody sees the Columbia County District Court judge by the next court day, usually over a video link from Walla Walla. The judge reviews probable cause and appoints a contract public defender for anyone who cannot afford a lawyer. Release terms follow. Washington's rules presume release on personal recognizance. The judge may still order no-contact, no alcohol or check-in conditions, and can set bail when there is a risk of a missed court date or of violence. Bail is paid at the Walla Walla jail, in cash or through a state-licensed bail bond agent.

After arraignment

• Discovery and plea talks happen at pretrial hearings in Dayton.
• Common outcomes include amended charges, deferred sentences, stipulated orders of continuance, or dismissal after the defendant completes conditions.
• A contested case goes to a six-member jury drawn from county residents, or to a bench trial if the defendant prefers.
• Trial deadlines run 60 days from arraignment for a jailed defendant and 90 days for one who is out, subject to extensions.

Penalties

A Columbia County District Court sentence can reach 90 days and $1,000 for a misdemeanor, or 364 days and $5,000 for a gross misdemeanor. Any jail time ordered is usually served in Walla Walla. DUI brings mandatory minimum jail or home monitoring, plus fines, license action and an ignition interlock. Drug possession is now a gross misdemeanor, and the law encourages diversion and treatment instead of jail. Your contract lawyer also handles any probation review.

A felony arrest in Columbia County means booking in the Walla Walla County Jail. When there is no warrant, a judge must confirm probable cause within 48 hours. The first appearance before a Superior Court judge or commissioner usually follows by the next court day, often by video.

Release, charging and arraignment

At the first appearance the court appoints counsel, reviews the facts and sets conditions or bail. The prosecutor then files an information, the formal felony charge. Arraignment in Dayton must happen within three days of filing when the defendant is jailed, and within 14 days after the next hearing when the defendant is free. That is where the defendant enters a plea and the court sets an omnibus hearing and a trial date.

Resolving the case

Plea agreements resolve most Columbia County felonies, sometimes after the defense brings mitigation to the prosecutor or completes an evaluation. Trials are held in the Dayton courthouse before a 12-person jury. Trial must start within 60 days of arraignment if the defendant is in custody and 90 days if released, although the rotating judge's calendar and continuances can add time.

Sentencing

Washington's sentencing grid combines the offense's seriousness level with the defendant's offender score to produce a standard range. The maximums are 5 years for a Class C felony, 10 years for Class B and life for Class A. A sentence of 12 months or less is served in county jail, which for this county means Walla Walla. Longer terms are served in a state prison, and supervision in the community comes after release. Alternatives such as the First-Time Offender Waiver, a Drug Offender Sentencing Alternative or a parenting sentence can shorten confinement. Contract public defense attorneys handle these cases through sentencing.

When a violent felony does occur, the State Patrol often helps investigate, and the defendant usually waits in the Walla Walla County Jail for the whole case.

Holding and release

Expect the State to ask for substantial bail and a no-contact order protecting the victim and any witnesses. The judge considers the danger to the community, the person's history of appearing in court, and ties to the Dayton area. Victims have constitutional rights in Washington to be told about hearings and to be heard at sentencing. The Prosecuting Attorney's office, (509) 382-1197, keeps victims informed.

What raises the stakes

• Deadly weapon or firearm enhancements add fixed prison time that must be served in full.
• Multiple serious violent counts run back to back instead of together.
• A third conviction for a "most serious offense" brings life without release under Washington's three-strikes law.
• Aggravated first-degree murder carries life without parole for adults. Capital punishment ended here in two steps, with a 2018 state Supreme Court ruling and a 2023 repeal statute.

Washington has no parole board release for these crimes. People serve the sentence, minus limited earned time, then spend a period on community custody. The county's contract public defenders can ask for investigators and experts in serious cases. A murder or arson case can take a year or more to reach trial, especially with one judge covering three counties.

Columbia County shares its juvenile system with Walla Walla County. Intake, probation, diversion and detention all run out of the Juvenile Justice Center at 455 W Rose St in Walla Walla, (509) 524-2800, which serves youth from both counties. Some hearings may still be held in Dayton.

Detention

When a teenager from Dayton or Starbuck has to be held, deputies take them to the Walla Walla County Juvenile Justice Center detention unit, (509) 524-2820. Older state listings also name the Cowlitz County youth center as a Columbia County option, but Walla Walla is the regular placement. A judge must hold a detention hearing within 72 hours, not counting weekends and holidays. Juvenile courts decide release on conditions rather than bail.

Outcomes

• Diversion keeps many first offenses out of court entirely, through community service, restitution or counseling.
• Adjudication is a hearing before a judge with no jury.
• Local sanctions include supervision, community service and up to 30 days in detention.
• Juvenile Rehabilitation commitment through the state Department of Children, Youth, and Families. Youth go to secure facilities such as Green Hill School or Echo Glen Children's Center or to community facilities, and can be held up to age 25 for some offenses.

Adult court

A 16- or 17-year-old charged with certain serious violent crimes, such as first-degree robbery or first-degree assault, is automatically tried as an adult. In other cases a judge can transfer the youth to adult court after a decline hearing. Every juvenile is entitled to a lawyer, and Columbia County's contract public defenders take these appointments.

Federal charges from Columbia County belong to the Eastern District of Washington, and that court places the county in the Spokane jury division, even though Richland is closer. A Columbia County federal case would normally be heard in Spokane at the Thomas S. Foley U.S. Courthouse (clerk (509) 458-3400).

How a case becomes federal

• Offenses in the Umatilla National Forest and Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness in the Blue Mountains south of Dayton, including timber theft, arson and resource damage.
• Crimes on Army Corps of Engineers land along the Snake River on the county's northern edge.
• Methamphetamine or fentanyl trafficking, federal gun cases, child exploitation online and fraud on federal programs.

Federal lawyers

• United States Attorney's Office (prosecutes Columbia County federal cases from its Spokane headquarters), (509) 353-2767
• Federal Defenders of Eastern Washington and Idaho (Spokane headquarters, Suite 900 of 601 W Riverside), (509) 624-7606. When there is a conflict, the court appoints a private Criminal Justice Act panel attorney.

Process

A magistrate judge holds the first appearance, usually within a day of arrest. Cash bail plays almost no part in federal court; under the Bail Reform Act the magistrate decides between release on conditions and detention after a hearing. The government has 30 days to indict, and the Speedy Trial Act calls for trial within 70 days, a deadline that is often extended in complex cases. Sentences are guided by the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and served in the Bureau of Prisons without parole, at roughly 85 percent of the term, followed by supervised release. Appeals go to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, headquartered in San Francisco.

Federal pretrial detainees are held by the U.S. Marshals in contract jails and may show up on a county roster. After sentencing, the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator shows where a person is serving their time.

This page offers general information about how criminal cases move through Columbia County's courts. It is not legal advice, and arrangements such as the out-of-county jail contract can change. Anyone facing charges should speak with a Washington-licensed defense lawyer. To ask about a court-appointed attorney, call Columbia County District Court at (509) 382-4812. To ask about a prisoner, call the Sheriff at (509) 382-1100 or the Walla Walla County Jail at (509) 524-5431.