Washington Courts: Press Release DetailGR 31.1: Court Rule Governing Access to Court Administrative RecordsJanuary 07, 2016
This month, a new court rule governing public access to judicial branch administrative records is in effect with a goal of facilitating transparency of the operations of Washington’s judiciary. A website containing further information regarding the rule and how to request records can be found at www.courts.wa.gov GR 31.1 includes a framework for providing administrative records which are created by or maintained by a court or judicial agency related to the management, supervision, or administration of the court or judicial agency.
Former Chief Justice Gerry Alexander suggested that Washington’s Board for Judicial Administration (BJA) formulate such a rule in 2009 following the Washington Supreme Court decision in City of Federal Way v. Koenig. Following years of work by a special committee, the BJA proposal fills a gap in existing state laws and court rules, which do not address court administrative records. “I am very proud of the Court’s adoption of GR 31.1, I believe this rule will increase the confidence of Washingtonians in their court system,” he said.
The proposal included two Supreme Court public hearings and months of written comment periods spanning three versions of the proposal. (GR 31 is a companion rule that relates to access to court records in effect since 2004.)
The rule approved by the BJA was adopted by the Washington Supreme Court in October of 2013, with the effective date suspended to allow time for the development of official guidelines for complying with the rule. Following adoption by the Court, an implementation committee of the BJA was formed including members from the judicial branch and outside groups interested in public access to judicial records.
The rule requires each court in Washington State to designate a public records officer. Requests for the Washington Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and organizations including the Superior Court Judges Association (SCJA) and District and Municipal Court Judges Association (DMCJA) will be coordinated by the Administrative Office of the Courts.
Contact: John Bell, Administrative Office of the Courts 360.704.4029 or Jan Nutting, Administrative Office of the Courts 360.705.5305.
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