Yakima County

Yakima County follows Washington law on arrests, release, and courts. These rules are the same in every county in the state; the full set covers prosecutors, defense, and jails too.

Who decides release first

A judge or court commissioner sets release at the preliminary appearance. Before that, a district or municipal court may adopt its own bail schedule that the jail applies; adopting one is optional and court by court.

CrRLJ 3.2CrR 3.2.1RCW 10.99.045RCW 3.42.010

Time to see a judge

A judge must decide probable cause within 48 hours of an arrest, counting weekends and holidays. The person must then appear before the court by the close of business on the next court day.

CrR 3.2.1(a), (c), (d)

Money bail

Court rules presume release on personal recognizance except in capital cases. A court may require a bond only after finding a likely failure to appear or a danger, must use the least restrictive conditions, and must consider the person's financial resources when setting a bond.

CrR 3.2

Courts

Each county has a superior court, which tries felonies. District courts hear misdemeanors and gross misdemeanors and can hold felony preliminary hearings, and municipal courts hear cases under city ordinances.

RCW 2.08.060RCW 3.66.060RCW 35.20.030

Judges and magistrates

Voters elect superior court judges on a nonpartisan ballot to four-year terms. District judges are also elected for four years and must be lawyers, except in districts under 5,000 people where a lay candidate passed the qualifying exam by 2003. Mayors appoint municipal judges for four-year terms unless the city makes the job elective.

RCW 2.08.060, 2.08.070RCW 29A.52.231RCW 3.34.060RCW 3.50.040, 3.50.050

Read from the statutes and court rules cited, 2026-09-30. The pretrial section rests on a secondary summary. Which counties use commissioners for preliminary appearances was not checked.

Pretrial practice

Advancing Pretrial lists it as a Public Safety Assessment site since 2016.

Advancing Pretrial Policy and Research, PSA sites list (page modified 2026-06-03)

• Yakima96,961
• Sunnyside16,277
• Grandview11,187
• Toppenish8,723
• Selah8,437
• Union Gap6,584
• Moxee4,625
• Wapato4,538
• Granger3,705
• Zillah3,140
• Mabton2,536
• Tieton1,597
• Naches town1,059
• Harrah town662

Every city, village, town, and township with any of its land in Yakima County, largest first. Population, the whole place's: Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020 to 2024.

• Yakima Police DepartmentCity police department97,467 served
• Yakima County Sheriff's OfficeSheriff or county police88,995 served
• Sunnyside Police DepartmentCity police department16,298 served
• Grandview Police DepartmentCity police department11,763 served
• Selah Police DepartmentCity police department8,774 served
• Toppenish Police DepartmentCity police department8,617 served
• Union Gap Police DepartmentCity police department6,589 served
• Moxee Police DepartmentCity police department4,897 served
• Wapato Police DepartmentCity police department4,467 served
• Granger Police DepartmentCity police department3,828 served
• Zillah Police DepartmentCity police department3,111 served
• Mabton Police DepartmentCity police department1,962 served
• Tieton Police DepartmentCity police department1,672 served
• LAW ENFOR AGST DRUGS TFOther agency

Agencies: FBI NIBRS master file 2025 batch headers; names from the FBI agency list, pulled 2026-09-29. An agency that serves several counties appears on each. Population served is the FBI's figure.