San Juan County Superior Court Document Format Requirements

CRITICAL

Format

PAPER

Unless a party intends to offer fewer than 10 case-in-chief exhibits, it must submit the original exhibits to the Clerk by noon one court day before trial, in hard copy, unbound, without hole punches, separated by numbered or pre-approved slip sheets, and secured with binder clips.

Unless a party intends to offer fewer than ten (10) exhibits in their case in chief, each party shall submit their original exhibits intended for their case in chief (not including exhibits for impeachment or rebuttal) to the Clerk by 12:00 noon one court day before trial in the following format: in hard copy; unbound and without hole punches; with slip sheets between each exhibit indicating the intended exhibit number or other method as pre-approved by the assigned trial clerk; and with the entire set of exhibits secured by binder clips(s).

CRITICAL

The parties must provide the trial judge one jury set of proposed instructions that is unnumbered, has a space for numbering, and contains no authority citations, WPI number, or proposer identification.

The parties shall further provide the trial judge with one (1) set of such proposed jury instructions to be given to the jury, which set shall not be numbered but shall contain a space to enter a number, no citations of authority, no reference to the WPI number, and no identification as to the proposing party.

CRITICAL

Documents served by email must be attached to one or more emails, and no individual email may exceed 10 megabytes.

Documents shall be served by email by attaching each document to one or more emails, with no one email to exceed ten (10) megabytes.

CRITICAL

Proposed jury instructions for the Court must be numbered, identify the proposing party, and include supporting annotations and the WPI number.

The proposed instructions shall be numbered and identified as to proposing party and shall contain supporting annotation and the number of the Washington Pattern Instruction (WPI) thereon.

CRITICAL

Format

PDF

Email-service attachments must be PDFs except for proposed orders, and each attachment must be separately labeled with a description.

Each attachment shall be in PDF format (except for proposed orders), and each attachment shall be separately labeled with a description

CRITICAL

Court documents submitted for filing must be legibly typed or printed in black or dark blue ink.

All court documents submitted for filing must be typed or printed legibly using black or dark blue ink.

CRITICAL

Format

PAPER

A transcription of recorded information intended for the permanent court record must be filed in paper format.

In order to make such recorded information part of the permanent court record, they must be transcribed by the filing party and filed as a document in paper format.

CRITICAL

Electronic video or audio exhibits must be submitted on a dedicated clean flash drive with only one file or item per device, and the device and file must use the exhibit-list identifying information.

Digital/electronic information (i.e., video or audio files—not electronic copies of documents) offered as exhibits must be submitted on a clean/empty flash drive used only for this purpose, with only one file or item per device. Both the device and the file must be clearly marked using the same identifying information as listed on the exhibit list prepared by the offering party. (This rule relates to the submission of the exhibit, not the playing of the file, which must be addressed with Court Administration.)

CRITICAL

Video or audio exhibits, but not electronic copies of documents, must be submitted on a clean, otherwise-empty flash drive used only for exhibits, with one file or item per device and matching identifying information on the device and file.

Digital/electronic information (i.e., video or audio files, not electronic copies of documents) offered as exhibits must be submitted on a clean/empty flash drive used only for this purpose, with only one file or item per device. Both the device and the file must be clearly marked using the same identifying information as listed on the exhibit list prepared by the offering party. (This rule relates to the submission of the exhibit, not the playing of the file, which must be addressed with Court Administration.)

CRITICAL

The State’s exhibits are pre-assigned numbers 1–100 and the defendant’s exhibits 101–200, unless the parties stipulate otherwise or the Court orders otherwise.

The State as plaintiff shall be pre-assigned exhibit numbers 1-100 and the defendant shall be pre-assigned numbers 101-200 unless otherwise stipulated by the parties or ordered by the Court.

CRITICAL

Pleadings, motions, and other papers follow GR 14’s requirements; exhibits and forms approved by the Administrative Office of the Courts need not use letter-size paper.

The requirements for pleadings, motions, and other papers are as specified in GR 14, except exhibits and forms approved by the Administrative Office of the Courts need not be on letter- size paper (8 ½ by 11 inches).

CRITICAL

Electronic courtesy copies other than proposed orders must be PDFs, sent as individually labeled files with document descriptions; a single attachment containing multiple pleadings will be rejected.

All courtesy copies other than proposed orders that are submitted electronically shall be in PDF format and shall be sent in individual, separately labeled files with a description of the document; any submission that contains more than one pleading in a single attachment will be rejected .

CRITICAL

Format

PDF

Courtesy copies must be submitted as PDFs, with each document separately labeled with a description.

Courtesy copies shall be submitted in PDF format as individual documents separately labeled with description,

CRITICAL

Filed documents may not have tabs; separator pages may identify or divide exhibits or sections, and the Clerk will discard any tabs included.

There shall be no tabs on filed documents. Exhibits or sections may be denoted or divided by a separator page. Any tabs included in a filed document will be discarded by the Clerk without notice to the party/counsel.

CRITICAL

The exhibits submitted to the Clerk’s Office are the official set for trial and must be single-sided.

The set of exhibits that is submitted to the Clerk’s Office is the official version of the exhibits that will be admitted at trial. This set of the exhibits must be single-sided.

CRITICAL

Each exhibit must have one number in its lower-right corner and be described by number on the Appendix E exhibit list; the parties and third parties must use their assigned number ranges.

Each party must mark their exhibits with one number per document, placing the number in the lower right hand corner of the document, and must describe their exhibits, by number, on the exhibit list form provided in Appendix E. The Petitioner is assigned numbers 1-50; the Respondent is assigned numbers 51-100; and any third party is assigned numbers 101-150.

CRITICAL

All papers filed with the Court must have writing or printing on only one side of each page.

All papers filed with the Court shall comply with GR 14, including the requirement that the writing or printing shall appear on only one side of the page.

WARNING

The Notification of Rights must use the Washington pattern form or otherwise comply with the cited statutes.

3. ______________ shall serve the person subject to the guardianship/conservatorship and all other persons entitled to notice the Notification of Rights provided on the Washington pattern form or as otherwise provided by RCW 11.130.315, .425, & .655, within 30 days from the date of this order.

WARNING

Color photographs may not be filed because they do not produce legible scanned images.

Color photographs may not be filed because they do not produce legible scanned images.

WARNING

Format

PAPER

Unless a party intends to offer fewer than ten documentary exhibits in its case in chief, counsel should present the original case-in-chief exhibits in hard copy, unbound and without hole punches, with numbered slip sheets; impeachment and rebuttal exhibits are excluded.

Unless a party intends to offer fewer than ten (10) documentary exhibits in their case in chief, counsel for each party should present their original documentary exhibits for their case in chief (not including exhibits that may be offered for impeachment or in rebuttal) to the Clerk by 12:00 noon one court day before trial for marking in the following format: in hard copy; unbound and without hole punches; with slip sheets between each exhibit indicating the intended exhibit number.

WARNING

If an attorney or any other person requests from the Clerk the mailing of an answer to correspondence or conformed copies of any pleadings or other documents, the attorney or person requesting the same shall furnish a self-addressed, stamped envelope and a copy of the document to be conformed and mailed, for the convenience of the Clerk.

If an attorney or any other person requests from the Clerk the mailing of an answer to correspondence or conformed copies of any pleadings or other documents, the attorney or person requesting the same shall furnish a self-addressed, stamped envelope and a copy of the document to be conformed and mailed, for the convenience of the Clerk.

WARNING

The clerk may reject filings that do not comply with the proper form required by rules or practices under CR 5(e) and GR 14.

The clerk has the authority to reject filings that are not presented in proper form required by rules or practices pursuant to CR 5(e) and GR 14.

WARNING

Format

PAPER

Courtesy copies over 100 pages must be submitted on paper; double-sided printing is preferred but not required.

Courtesy copies over 100 pages shall be submitted in paper form, double-sided preferred, and shall be delivered by mail or hand delivery to the Clerk’s Office, the box outside of Superior Court Administration’s Office, or in the Clerk/Superior Court secure drop box outside of the Sheriff’s Office at the Courthouse.

WARNING

Each set of exhibits should be submitted to the Clerk with an exhibit list in hard copy and electronic Word version prepared by the submitting party, on the Clerk’s form, as available on the Clerk’s webpage, or on request, as provided in Appendix E.

Each set of exhibits should be submitted to the Clerk with an exhibit list in hard copy and electronic Word version prepared by the submitting party, on the Clerk’s form, as available on the Clerk’s webpage, or on request, as provided in Appendix E.

WARNING

Parties must not file exhibits such as financial records, text messages, discovery responses, or deposition transcripts unless they are specifically referenced in filed declarations or briefing.

While the page limits do not apply to exhibits, parties shall not file exhibits such as financial records, text messages, discovery responses, or deposition transcripts that are not specifically referenced in the declarations or briefing filed with the Court.

WARNING

Parties should account for the Clerk marking exhibits in the lower-right corner with a 1-by-3-inch label.

Please consider when preparing exhibits that the Clerk will mark them in the lower right corner with a 1” by 3” label.

WARNING

Guardian’s and Conservator’s Plans must use the Washington pattern forms, and proposed orders approving the plans must also use the pattern forms.

4. ____________ shall file and serve on all persons entitled to notice a Guardian’s Plan pursuant to RCW 11.130.340 and/or a Conservator’s Plan pursuant to RCW 11.130.510 on the Washington pattern forms within 90 days from the date of this order (if these have not already been filed/served). Upon receipt, the Court shall determine whether any further review hearing is necessary. ____________ shall lodge proposed orders approving said plans, also on the pattern forms, at the same time as filing the plans.

WARNING

GR 14 format requirements apply to motions, pleading attachments, and other papers; accepted noncompliant, unscannable items and oversized documents are treated as exhibits and may be converted to exhibits without further court order.

The format requirements of GR 14 shall apply to motions and attachments to pleadings and other papers filed with the clerk. Any item presented to and accepted by the clerk for filing that does not comply with GR 14 and is not a scannable document, such as compact disks, digital video disks, audio tapes, thumb drives, and similar devices containing recorded information, as well as oversized documents, shall be treated as an exhibit and may be converted to an exhibit without further order of the court.

WARNING

Format

PDF

When a courtesy copy is submitted electronically, each exhibit must be a separate PDF labeled with its corresponding exhibit number.

If the courtesy copy is submitted electronically, each exhibit must be a separate PDF, labeled with the corresponding exhibit number.

INFO

Fax, scanned, and electronic signatures have the same effect as original or ink signatures on filed documents; electronic signatures include the stated definition and qualifying program-based signatures.

Notwithstanding any provision of GR 30 to the contrary, a fax, scan, or electronic signature shall have the same force and effect as an original or ink signature on filed documents. “Electronic signature” is defined by RCW 1.80.010 to mean: “an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to or logically associated with a record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record.” Electronic signature includes a signature made through a computer program that links the signature to an email address or otherwise confirms that the signature was made by the signor, such as DocuSign or Adobe Sign.

INFO

If the parties create a joint exhibit list with consecutive numbering, they may use that numbering instead of the pre-assigned exhibit numbers.

If the parties create a joint exhibit list with consecutive numbering, they need not use the pre-assigned exhibit numbers.

INFO

Judge’s courtesy copies may contain tabs for ease of reference. If tabs are included in courtesy copies, they should also be included in copies provided to opposing parties/counsel.

Judge’s courtesy copies may contain tabs for ease of reference. If tabs are included in courtesy copies, they should also be included in copies provided to opposing parties/counsel.

INFO

Hard-copy courtesy exhibits are permitted, and double-sided copies are allowed.

The courtesy copy of exhibits may be submitted in hard copy (double-sided is permitted) or

CRITICAL

Attach each proposed order as a separate Word document and label it with a description.

Each proposed order shall be attached as a separate Word document and appropriately labeled with a description of the proposed order.