GR 15 - Destruction, Sealing, and Redaction of Court Records

Comments for GR 15 must be received no later than April 30, 2014.


Suggested Amendments to GR 15
Submitted by the Judicial Information System Committee

Purpose:

The Judicial Information Systems Committee (JISC) is proposing amendments to GR 15, Destruction and Sealing of Court Records. Current GR 15 language does not provide trial courts enough guidance in considering a Motion to Seal or Redact court records. Courts must use the rule in conjunction with case law to meet Washington Constitution, Article I, Section 10 standards. Due to the amount of case law that trial courts and litigants must consider, GR 15 language should be updated with current standards.

The goals of the proposed amendments are to incorporate the current case law on sealing and redacting court records, address juvenile offender records in the rule consistent with chapter 13.50 RCW, provide a basis for sealing non-conviction adult and juvenile court records, emphasize that party names may not be redacted consistent with the principal that the existence of a sealed or redacted adult case is always available to the public, and provide that Orders to Seal or Redact shall contain an expiration date unless specific to a juvenile record.

The Data Dissemination Committee (DDC) initiated the amendments and held a public hearing in Everett on April 12, 2013. Written and oral comments were received by the DDC throughout the drafting process, and two drafts were circulated to stakeholders in July, 2013, and in September, 2013. The supporting documentation to the proposed GR 15 amendments can be located on the JIS Data Dissemination Committee webpage at www.courts.wa.gov, located here.

The JISC forwards this proposed GR 15 draft as a much needed language update to allow the rule to remain consistent with current case law and statutory changes.

 

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