Facts: The petitioner Yakima Herald-Republic requested, pursuant to Washington’s Public Records Act (Washington Revised Code §42.56), records from the respondent Yakima County related to the defense at public expense of two indigent defendants in a murder case. After Yakima County refused to provide the requested records on grounds that they were sealed court records that could only be obtained via court order, the Yakima Herald-Republic filed suit in the Superior Court for Yakima County seeking either declaratory relief that Yakima County had failed to comply with §42.56 in refusing to provide the requested records or, in the alternative, a writ of mandamus compelling the superior court to unseal the records. The trial court declined to grant relief, ruling that §42.56 was inapplicable to the requested records and that they had been properly withheld on grounds that they were court records rather than county records. The Yakima Herald-Republic appealed this decision to the Supreme Court of Washington.

Question(s): Are court records such as those requested by the Yakima Herald-Republic public records subject to release pursuant to §42.56?

Conclusion: Chief Justice Madsen’s opinion for a unanimous Court affirmed the trial court’s decision with regard to those requested records prepared by court personnel and maintained by the superior court, holding that such records are judicial documents and that §42.56 is therefore inapplicable to them. However, the Court reversed the trial court’s decision with regard to those requested records that had been transferred to non-judicial county entities, concluding that §42.56 mandates the release of these records absent a protective order. Thus, the Court remanded the case to the trial court to consider whether the release of the requested judicial documents would be proper under Washington State Courts General Rule §15(e) (which governs the release of sealed court records) and to release the requested records transferred to non-judicial county entities.

Docket No. 82229-8 (from Yakima Case No. 08-2-02337-0 & 08-2-02355-8)

Petitioner: The Yakima Herald-Republic

(Counsel: Michele Lynn Earl-Hubbard, Greg Overstreet, David M. Norman, Brendan V. Monahan, and Christopher Roslaniec)

Respondent: Yakima County

(Counsel: Paul Edward McIlrath, Stefanie Jean Weigand, Terry Dee Austin, and Kenneth W. Harper)

Briefs:

Argument: Tuesday, March 9, 2010 10:00am

[Source: TVW, http://tvw.org]

Decided: Thursday, January 13th, 2011

Prevailing Party: The Yakima Herald-Republic (Petitioner)

Vote: 9-0

Citation: Pending

Court: Madsen1 Court (2010-2011)

Madsen
(Majority)

Johnson

Alexander

Sanders

Chambers

Owens

Fairhurst

Johnson

Stephens