Proposed Rules Archives

• Proposed Changes to RAP 15.5 - Allowance of Claim for Payment of Expense for Indigent Party (in Word Format)
• No comments were submitted.

PURPOSE: The Office of Public Defense (OPD) proposes to change RAP 15.5 to extend the time to 15 days for determining claimed expenses. The current 10 day period was established in 2001. Since that time, OPD has experienced an increase in invoicing issues that warrant an extension of the time period for allowing a claimed expense. A five-day extension would maintain OPD’s policy of ensuring prompt payment on all invoices.

In some cases, OPD’s 10 day deadline conflicts with other procedural timelines in the RAP. For example, under RAP 9.5(c), the trial court will hold a transcript filed by a court reporter for 10 days before sending it to the court of appeals. Court reporters frequently invoice for the transcription when they file the transcript in the trial court. However, OPD cannot pay for the invoice until the court of appeals receives the transcript from the trial court. Therefore, if OPD receives the invoice before the transcript is sent to the court of appeals, then it often must hold the invoice for 10 days or longer before it can pay.