§ 26.4 Accelerated Review
Jurisdiction | Washington |
Several rules deal with accelerated review—a general rule, two specialized rules for juvenile proceedings, and another specialized rule for adult sentencing.
(1) General rule
RAP 18.12, the general rule on accelerated review, provides that the appellate court may set any review proceeding for accelerated disposition. A party should seek an accelerated hearing in the appellate court by motion.
Accelerated review under RAP 18.12 may result in accelerated deadlines for perfecting the record and filing the briefs, with a priority setting for oral argument. The appellate court may, in its discretion, set the case for consideration on the judges' motion, without oral argument. RAP 17.5(b). The case will receive a workup by a staff lawyer before it is reviewed by the judges, and it will be disposed of by a memorandum or per curiam opinion.
Practice Tip: | Requests for accelerated review are granted rarely but may be appropriate in unusual cases. When moving for accelerated review counsel should propose a briefing schedule and oral argument date after checking with the clerk's office for available dates. An appellant seeking accelerated review is in the driver's seat and can control the pace by immediately perfecting the record and filing a motion for accelerated review immediately upon filing the notice of appeal. Note that courts will adhere strictly to briefing deadlines in cases accepted for accelerated review. Any effort to seek review in the Supreme Court of a Court of Appeals decision denying accelerated review may delay disposition of the case. |
Accelerated review has always been permitted in matters of public importance when quick disposition was necessary. RAP 18.12 may have a tendency to broaden this practice. In City of Yakima v. Crafton, 19 Wn. App. 907, 909, 578 P.2d 88 (1978), Division III spelled out some of the mechanics of practice under the rule: "Such a request [for accelerated disposition] should be supported by the relevant portions of the record and a memorandum of authorities. If such a request is granted, then an appropriate time period for filing supplemental and answering briefs, and a hearing on the merits will be determined."
Some statutes contain provisions mandating accelerated dispositions for certain types of cases. E.g., RCW 8.12.090 (appeals from orders of public use and necessity in condemnation cases "shall have precedence of all cases in court except criminal cases"); RCW 29A.56.270 (providing for priority hearing of reviews of disputes over recall election petitions); Rules for Enforcement of Lawyer Conduct (ELC) 12.7(b) (providing for priority setting for oral argument of lawyer disciplinary proceedings). The Supreme Court has not incorporated in the rules these statutory provisions for accelerated review, except for juvenile court sentencing under circumstances discussed below. However, the same policies that underlie statutory provisions regarding accelerated trial court disposition of disputes involving the residence of children in family law cases have been cited by the appellate courts to justify accelerated review. See, e.g., In re Custody of Osborne, 119 Wn. App. 133, 148 n.8, 79 P.3d 465 (2003). Each appellate court may develop general rules for case priority or give priority based on RAP 18.12 on a case-by-case...
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