Proposed Rules Archives

• Proposed Changes to ER 501 - General Rule (in Word Format)
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Purpose: ER 501 presently identifies certain statutes and “case law” that make reference to privileges and communications. ER 501(h) identifies two significant cases that apply to the journalist privilege, including Senear v. Daily Journal American, 97 Wn.2d 148, 641 P.2d 1180 (1982) and State v. Rinaldo, 102 Wn.2d 749, 689 P.2d 392 (1984). ER 501(h) is the only subpart of the rule that refers to case law, and the other privileges identified in the rule include references only to statutes.

The suggested amendment to ER 501 would strike references to these two cases, and instead refer to the statute that governs the journalist privilege: RCW 5.68.010. A concurrent proposal would eliminate a reference to “case law” at the top of the rule, as there would no longer be a reference to case law following each privileged in the rule. This suggested amendment would not create any privilege nor abrogate any privilege by implication or omission and is designed to consistently refer to the relevant statutes.

ER 501(f) currently refers to the “Husband Wife” privilege. Since its inception, the Revised Code of Washington has been updated to refer to the “Spouse or Domestic Partner” privilege. The suggested amendment would amend the reference to conform to the language contained in the applicable statutory provisions. RCW 26.21.355(8) has also been replaced by RCW 26.21A.275(8). Accordingly, the suggested amendment would update and correct the cited statutory references.