General Orders of Division II

RESCINDED - 2017-1 Changes to Case Titles (Rescinded)

GENERAL COURT ORDER FOR THE COURT OF APPEALS

Unless otherwise ordered, "[t]he title of a case in the appellate court is the same as in the trial court." RAP 3.4¹; RAP 3.4 allows the Court of Appeals to change the title of a case by court order. Each division of this court agrees that a unified order on changing case titles will benefit the court and the legal community.

The legislature has adopted statutes protecting confidentiality and sealing the superior court record for the following types of cases:

• Adoption, RCW 26.33.330 (Type 5);
• Civil commitment, RCW 71.05.620 (Type 6);
• Dependency, chapter 13.34 RCW and RCW 13.50.100 (Type 7);
• Termination, chapter 13.34 RCW and RCW 13.50.100 (Type 7);
• Truancy, RCW 28A.225.030 and RCW 13.50.100 (Type 7);
• At risk youth, RCW 13.32A.191 and RCW 13.50.100 (Type 7); and
• Child in need of services, RCW 13.32A.140 and RCW 13.50.100 (Type 7).

Additionally, the legislature has adopted a statute allowing parentage cases to be sealed in the superior court by motion. RCW 26.26.610.

However, the legislature has determined that the official juvenile court record of any alleged or proven juvenile offender shall be open to public inspection unless sealed. RCW 13.50.050, .260, .270. In addition, GR 15 authorizes the juvenile court to seal juvenile offender records.²

Pursuant to the legislative policy of confidentiality of the aforementioned Types 5, 6, and 7 proceedings as expressed in the statutes listed above, and pursuant to agreement of the judges of this court, it is hereby

ORDERED that the Clerk shall change the case title of all appeals of adoption, civil commitment, dependency, termination, truancy, at risk youth, and child in need of services cases by using the juveniles' or parties' initials instead of their full names. Additionally it is

ORDERED that the Clerk shall change the case title of appeals of parentage cases sealed in superior court by using the initials instead of full names.

However pursuant to the legislative policy that juvenile offender court records shall be open to public inspection as expressed in RCW 13.50.050, it is hereby

ORDERED that the Court of Appeals shall not grant a motion to change the case title for juvenile offender cases on appeal using the juvenile's initials instead of the juvenile's full name unless the case has been sealed in the juvenile or superior court under RCW 13.50.050, .260, .270 or GR 15. Further, it is hereby

ORDERED that the General Order for the Court of Appeals, "In re Changes to Case Title," dated April 12, 2017, be and hereby is, rescinded effective immediately.

Dated this 25th day of May, 2017.

FOR THE COURT

James R. Verellen, Chief Judge, Division I
Thomas Bjorgen, Chief Judge, Division II
George B. Fearing, Chief Judge, Division III

¹ Hundtofte v. Encarnación, 181 Wn.2d 1, 7, 330 P.3d 168 (2014).
²See State v. S.J.C., 183 Wn.2d 408, 432 n. 6, 352 P.3d 749 (2015); State v. C.R.H., 107 Wn. App. 591, 27 P.3d 660 (2001).