GR 9 COVER SHEET

Suggested Amendment Rules of Appellate Procedure

Rule 16.9 – Personal Restraint Petition – Response to Petition

A.                  Proponent: Washington State Court of Appeals Rules Committee

B.                 Spokesperson: Judge Bradley Maxa, Chair

C.                 Purpose: RAP 16.9 addresses the expectation of a response to a personal restraint petition. The rule currently consists of two subsection. Subsection (a) identifies the required contents of and sets the time limit for filing a response to a personal restraint petition. Subsection (b) is a discretionary mechanism for directing a respondent to admit or deny a specific allegation. The rule does not limit the length of a response. The proposed amendment would add subsection (c), which proposes setting the length of the response by reference to RAP 18.17’s length limitation for a personal restraint petition (i.e., 12,000 words (word processing software) or 50 pages (typewritten or handwritten)).

D.                 Hearing: Not requested.

E.                  Expedited Consideration: Not requested.

Supporting Material: Suggested rule amendment.