ER 408 - Compromise and Offers to Compromise

• Proposed Changes to ER 408 - Compromise and Offers to Compromise (in Word Format)
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GR 9 COVER SHEET
Suggested Amendment to
RULES OF EVIDENCE (ER)
ER 408. COMPROMISE AND OFFERS TO COMPROMISE

Submitted by the Board of Governors of the Washington State Bar Association

Purpose: In 2005, the Supreme Court held that evidence of negotiations or compromise between a criminal defendant and a victim in efforts to compromise a potential civil claim is admissible in the criminal trial of the defendant, on grounds that ER 408 does not apply in criminal trials. See State v. O’Connor, 155 Wn.2d 335, 119 P.3d 806 (2005). The intent of this suggested amendment is to codify the O’Connor decision. A companion amendment to ER 410 also responds to the O’Connor decision.