Municipal Court Open House Tonight

A trip to the courthouse typically might not have people in a celebratory mood, but tonight might be an exception.

Lakewood and University Place are celebrating the establishment of the , which will operate out of  beginning next year.

The event begins tonight at 6:30 p.m. at Lakewood City Hall, 6000 Main St. SW.

According to Lakewood spokesman Jeff Brewster, "University Place entered into an interlocal agreement with the City of Lakewood to provide municipal court, prosecution and public defender services, which will commence on January 1, 2011. University Place has not previously had their own municipal court, and had contracted with Pierce County to use district court."

Earlier this year, the City Council agreed to appoint Ernest Heller to be its municipal court judge. The court -- which would handle non-felony issues -- would operate out of Lakewood City Hall, where that city operates its own municipal court.

The move is expected to save money, because operating out of the Pierce County Courthouse in Tacoma is more expensive.