GR 9 Cover Sheet

Name of Proponent: Appellate Court Clerks and Office of Public Defense (Derek Byrnes, Lea Ennis, Erin L. Lennon, Gideon Newmark, Sarah Pendleton, Tristen Worthen,)

Spokesperson:           Erin Lennon, Washington State Supreme Court Clerk

Purpose: This rule amendment would clarify the deadline for a criminal defendant to file a statement of additional grounds for review. It would also clarify that the criminal defense attorney is responsible for notifying their client of their right to file the statement.

As background, Rule of Appellate Procedure (RAP) 10.10 allows a criminal defendant to file “a pro se statement of additional grounds for review to identify and discuss those matters related to the decision under review that the defendant believes have not been adequately addressed by the brief filed by the defendant’s counsel.” The rule used to set the deadline for filing as “30 days after service upon the defendant of the brief prepared by defendant’s counsel and the mailing of a notice from the clerk of the appellate court advising the defendant to the substance of the rule.” Last year, the Court adopted a change to the rule that shifted responsibility for notifying the defendant to the attorney based on the idea that the courts should not be involved in the attorney- client relationship. This proposed rule amendment completes that shift of responsibility to the defense attorney, streamlines the communication between the defense attorney and client, and provides a clearer deadline to the parties and to the courts.

This proposal is supported by all the appellate court clerks and Gideon Newmark of the Office of Public Defense, the sponsor of last year’s amendment to RAP 10.10.

Hearing: The proponent does not believe a public hearing is necessary.

Expedited Consideration: The proponent does not believe that expedited consideration is necessary.