The Washington Courts public Web site is a service for individuals, attorneys, and courts to assist in finding a legal case in the state court system. It should not be used for any other purpose; it is not the official court record. This public Web site gives very limited information about all public court cases filed in the state of Washington. This information includes a brief synopsis of a case found by entering the name or case number into the public Web site’s search field. (See the Search Case Records page of the Washington Courts Web site: http://dw.courts.wa.gov/).
The public Web site only identifies the existence of a case and name in the court system, the date the case was filed, and the type of case. The site does not display any confidential information or sealed cases. The court rule addressing sealing records is GR 15 - Destruction, Sealing, and Redaction of Court Records.
Any further information must be obtained by contacting the court where the case was filed. (See the Washington State Court Directories Web page: http://www.courts.wa.gov/court_dir/). This includes verifying the information and the disposition of the case. For traffic infractions, the court records retention schedule requires that infraction dispositions (dismissed or committed) be retained for three years. If the infraction was deferred, then the court is required to retain the infraction for seven years.
Published 02/22/2008 03:10 PM | Updated 09/17/2018 11:34 AM