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Month: January 2017

How to Waive Interest on Legal Financial Obligations

This guide, brought to you by the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington State, provides information and forms on how to obtain a court order waiving or reducing interest on legal financial obligations (LFOs) in Washington State. Defined by statute RCW 10.82.090, the court may, on motion by the offender, reduce or waive the interest on legal financial obligations ordered as a result of a criminal conviction.

How to Vacate/Seal Felony Conviction Records

This brochure provides information and forms on how to vacate records concerning certain non-violent Class B or C felony convictions in Washington State for offenses occurringon or after July 1, 1984. “Vacate” is the term Washington law uses to describe a process for clearing a felony conviction from a person’s criminal record when certain requirements are met. The Washington State Patrol will remove a vacated conviction from the version of a person’s official criminal history record that is disseminated to the public. This provides some limited protection in background checks for employment, housing, and other purposes but it does not stop disclosure of all information about your conviction – information about the court records associated with a vacated conviction are still public and easily accessible on the Washington Courts website unless, in addition to a vacate order, you also get an order to seal or redact the court records and court indexes. Although vacating a conviction or clearing it from your record is sometimes informally called “expungement,” that term is confusing in Washington. In other states, expungement of a conviction may mean that it is deleted from a person’s records. There currently is no Washington statute that would allow for the literal expungement, deletion, or destruction of an adult conviction record.

How to Vacate a Misdemeanor Record (Seattle)

Vacating a conviction for a misdemeanor crime means the Court determines you meet certain conditions and orders. If you pled guilty to a crime, your plea will be changed to not guilty and then the charges are dismissed. If you were found guilty, the court may set aside the conviction, dismiss the case and vacate the judgment and sentence. If your record is vacated, your name, the case number, the charge, a “V” for vacated, and, “DV” if the file was related to domestic violence may still show up on the Court’s information system. Vacating a record does not remove information from the Court’s electronic record keeping system. The record will remain, and it will be available to the public. The record will be updated to contain additional information about the vacation of the record.

How to Vacate a Judgment and Stay the Enforcement of a Writ of Restitution

If you do not deliver a written response to an eviction summons and complaint for unlawful detainer on time, or if you do not appear at a show cause hearing, then a final judgment may be entered against you and a writ of restitution may be issued. If the eviction summons required that you pay rent money into the court or file a certification by the deadline, and you did neither, a writ of restitution may also be issued. A writ of restitution directs the sheriff to physically remove you and your personal possessions from the property you are renting. This is called “enforcing the writ.” A judgment states the amount of money you owe your landlord. The money owed may be collected by garnishing your wages or bank accounts, or by seizing your personal property and having it auctioned. If you receive a judgment or a writ of restitution and you believe you had a good reason for not responding to the eviction summons or appearing at the show cause hearing, you may ask the court to vacate (or withdraw) the judgment and stay (or temporarily stop) the eviction. If the court agrees that you may have had good reasons for not responding or appearing, enforcement of the writ of restitution may be stayed or postponed until a hearing on your motion to vacate the judgment is held.

How to Vacate a Civil Judgment (CR 60)

This packet contains both instructions and forms for vacating a civil judgment in Washington State. A motion to vacate is a request to the court to withdraw a previous order or judgment it has entered. The request has to be based on one of the specific reasons set forth in Superior Court Civil Rule 60. A Motion to Vacate may be filed in Superior Court or in a court of limited jurisdiction such as district court. Generally, a Motion to Vacate will be granted if you are able to convince the court that you did not have a fair opportunity to present your case. If you had such an opportunity, then you should not file a Motion to Vacate as it is not a way to ask the court to change its mind or reconsider the evidence or law.

How to Subpoena Witnesses and Documents

From washingtonlawhelp.org: if you’re going to an evidentiary hearing or trial and you need to make sure that a witness shows up, or that someone brings documents or other items, you can have the person served with a subpoena issued by the court clerk. For the attendance of a person, use a subpoena. To require a person to bring documents or other items, use a subpoena duces tecum.

How to Present a Tort Claim against the State of Washington

The Risk Management Division (RMD) of the Washington State Office of Financial Management is required by RCW Chapter 4.92 to receive and process citizen’s standard tort claims against Washington State. The Self-Insurance Liability Program (SLIP) sets agency premiums and pays approved claims filed against state agencies. RMD objectively determines the state’s liability for claimed injuries. It fairly compensates claimants for damages when liability is supported, and denies claims when liability is unsupported.