IMPORTANT DETAILS ABOUT APPEARING VIA ZOOM FOR YOUR HEARING

Beginning January 1, 2024, if you would like to request to appear for a scheduled hearing via Zoom, there is a required fee of $25.00 for each court hearing  (fee waived for Dependency cases, protection orders and indigent parties). Each party must pay for their individual Zoom Appearance.

You must complete the Zoom Request Form  and payment can be made online by going to www.skamaniafinepay.com

(please use your case number as the account number and email your payment receipt to Court Administration at bell@co.skamania.wa.us).

Once your Zoom appearance request has been received and approved, you will be sent the Zoom Meeting Information. Only active parties on a case may appear via Zoom. If you wish to view the proceedings as a spectator, our courtroom is open to the public.

Our court screens Zoom participants before allowing anyone into the call. Please check approx. 10 minutes early and rename yourself so that court administration can verify your payment and swiftly check you in to keep the dockets running smoothly.

You will wait in a virtual waiting room until you are let in to the hearing.  Please note, you may be in the waiting room for as long as an hour as there are several hearings scheduled during each session. 

When you join the Zoom hearing please be sure to connect with computer audio. Please also make sure you have a strong WIFI connection and video capabilities so that the court can properly see and hear you.

Courtroom Protocol for Participants in Court Hearings Conducted by Video Conference:

- All participants are to be dressed appropriately for court.

- No distractions are allowed so please do not get up and move around during the hearing

- All participants must act as if they are in an actual courtroom.

- People who are not involved in the hearing and pets must not come into the camera view

- Participants must control background noise (which can easily be done by muting their microphone unless they are speaking).

- Participants must be aware of their visual backgrounds. There should be no offensive or distracting backgrounds visible and there must not be any messages conveyed to the court or other participants. 

- Behavior during a hearing should be that expected in a courtroom

- The judge will direct the hearing and ask for certain participants to speak in turn

- Participants must behave respectfully, avoiding facial or hand gestures that could be interpreted as agreeing or disagreeing with a speaker or conveying a message

- In short, participants should remember that while they are not in a courtroom, they are in a “virtual” courtroom and must act appropriately.

For any questions regarding a specific hearing date or time, please contact the County Clerk’s office at 509-427-3770 or view the dockets on the Superior Court main page.

QUESTIONS? PLEASE CONTACT COURT ADMINISTRATION AT bell@co.skamania.wa.us or 509-427-3765