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Nov
17

Judge William L. Dixon V - Superior Court

How to contact the court and get ready for your trial or motion.

Picture of Judge Dixon

Courtroom Number: MRJC 4B

Bailiff: Janie Smoter

Department: 46

Assignment: Civil and criminal

Biography

Judge William L. Dixon V was appointed by Governor Jay Inslee to the King County Superior Court on June 2, 2023.  He assumed the position previously held by Judith Ramseyer, who retired on July 1, 2023.

Judge Dixon is currently assigned to the general (civil and criminal) trial rotation at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, Washington.

Judge Dixon earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Arizona and law degree at the University of Washington School of Law.  Prior to his appointment to the King County Superior Court, he worked for many years as a civil litigator handling complex litigation matters for both plaintiffs and defendants. Most recently, he was the founder and manager of Dixon Law Firm PLLC, a personal injury firm in Seattle, where he prosecuted clients’ claims of medical malpractice, sexual abuse, employment discrimination, products liability, and motor vehicle injury.

Judge Dixon, prior to joining the bench, was active in the community.  He has served in various leadership roles with the Washington State Bar Association, the King County Bar Association, and the Washington State Association for Justice.  In 2019, the Washington State Association for Justice honored him with the Carl Maxey Award for his sustained commitment to diversity in the legal profession and more recently, the President’s Award.  He has also volunteered as a youth football coach.

Email

DO NOT email the Judge directly.  All email correspondence must go through the bailiff.  Please see the email address listed above.

Please see this link for King County Superior Court’s policies regarding emailing with the court:

Civil Case Information, Forms, and Documents

Rules to Review before Emailing or Calling the Court

Notice Regarding E-Service Requirement

Pursuant to Local General Rule 30, all attorneys and unrepresented parties who E-file documents must register to accept e-service via the Clerk’s eFiling application, unless they have been granted a waiver.  IF YOU FAIL TO REGISTER FOR E-SERVICE, IT IS POSSIBLE YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE A COPY OF A COURT ORDER

Working Copies

Working copies shall be submitted to the Court pursuant to LCR 7(b)(4)(F).  Please be advised that the Clerk’s Office does not provide working copies to the court unless the parties sign up for that additional service.  It is the responsibility of the parties to make sure that the court receives working copies, prior to a hearing, in accordance with LCR 7(b)(4)(F).

Non-Dispositive Motions

Parties must comply with all the requirements of KCLR 7 when setting motions without oral argument, including providing and filing proof of service of the motion. All non-dispositive motions will be considered by the Court without oral argument unless a party requests oral argument and the Court deems oral argument to be necessary. If you wish to request oral argument, please so indicate on the front page of your motion or opposition.

The request will be considered when the motion is reviewed on the date for which it is noted. If at that time the Court decides to hear oral argument, the bailiff will contact the parties regarding scheduling. If the Court does not grant oral argument, you will receive a courtesy copy of the Court’s order on the non-dispositive motion once the court enters a ruling.

Dispositive Motions and Hearing Requests

Dispositive motions are heard on Fridays. Judge Dixon’s dispositive motion calendar is available below.  The Court is available in one-hour slots which are noted as “DISPOSITIVE MOTION TIME AVAILABLE” on this calendar.  Please select a date from this calendar, and then check with all opposing counsel or pro se parties to make sure that the date works before contacting the bailiff, as this is required. Doing so reduces the need to reschedule hearings due to conflicts.  The court will not schedule the motion unless all parties have indicated they are available.

Once you have selected a date and confirmed all parties’ availability, you must contact the bailiff to confirm the date is still available.  DO NOT note your motion until the bailiff has sent back confirmation.

  

Requests for hearing dates are accepted by emailing the bailiff at dixon.court@kingcounty.gov. The Court requires that you must also file and provide a working copy of your Note for Motion within 48 hours after confirming a hearing date.  Per LCR 7(b)(4)(F), the parties are required to provide working copies in support of or opposition to the noted motion no later than the day they are to be served on the opposing party.

Any email request for a dispositive motion hearing must include the following:

  • Case name and cause number
  • Names, phone numbers and email addresses of all counsel
  • Type of hearing and date(s) requested from the available dates on the above calendar

The following policies and procedures have been implemented by this Court to ensure access to the dispositive motions calendar for all cases.  The Court enforces them strictly as to all parties:

  1. Each motion is allotted 1 hour for argument and ruling. Any cross motion or additional (separately briefed) dispositive motion must also be scheduled with the Court. You may not include those as part of your response to a motion.
  2. All working copies, per LCR 7(b)(4)(F), of the parties’ briefs and accompanying documents must be submitted through either e-working copies or a delivery service of your choice. Working copies must be submitted when they are due to be filed. Do not wait to submit until the Reply is due.
  3. As there are hundreds of cases on the Court’s caseload competing for limited motion availability, If the moving party elects for any reason not to proceed with the motion, that party shall notify the court to strike the hearing immediately, per KCLCR 7(b)(4)(H).

The Court will provide additional time on hearings involving multi-party cases or complex litigation.  Please advise the bailiff of your request when scheduling.

Other types of motions that are granted oral argument are motions for restraining orders, preliminary injunctions, and class certification hearings.

No Deliveries Directly to the Courtroom

Unless arrangements have been made directly with the bailiff, no deliveries are to be made directly to the courtroom. All deliveries should be made to the judges' mailroom. (See mailing address above.)

Pretrial Requirements

All trial memoranda, proposed jury instructions, and other trial submissions are due no later than five court days prior to trial. If your trial is scheduled for a Remote Zoom trial, all submissions must be emailed to the bailiff. 

Deposition designations and objections shall be provided to the Court at least five days prior to trial, along with other pretrial materials.

Hearing / Trial Information

General trial schedule is Monday through Thursday, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The Court hears civil non-dispositive motions and sentence modification hearings at 8:30 AM and 1:00 PM.

If you have a civil case which is assigned to Judge Dixon, your case could be assigned to another available judge at the time of trial.  The assignment will generally take place on the Thursday afternoon prior to trial. You are still required to comply with all court rules regarding pretrial submissions and deadlines. All trial materials will be provided to the trial judge at the time of assignment by the bailiff. To determine what judge you have been assigned to for trial, please check the Civil Standby Calendar. It will be updated on the Thursday afternoon prior to trial and is continuously updated (as needed) at other times.

The Court requires all counsel and parties to be prepared at the end of each day to disclose all witnesses that party is intending to call the following day in trial.

Weddings

Judge Dixon is not conducting weddings at this time.

 

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