KITSAP COUNTY LOCAL COURT RULES

Rule 40

RULE 40. ASSIGNMENT OF CASES

(b) Methods.

(1) Trial Setting.

(A) Note for Trial Setting. Any party desiring to bring any issue to trial shall note the matter on the trial setting calendar using the Note for Trial Setting (Exhibit A).

Counsel are required to inform the Court Scheduler of available and unavailable date(s). Counsel may identify mutually agreeable date(s). Upon stipulation by all parties of the trial date(s), moving counsel shall provide that information on the Note for Trial Setting. The moving party must identify all counsel and/or parties and their mailing addresses. Personal appearance by counsel is not necessary. Settings will be done administratively and the Court Scheduler shall mail the case event schedule containing the trial date to all parties listed on the Note for Trial Setting. If a dispute arises over a setting, the matter shall be heard on the civil motion calendar.

All telephone communications regarding trial settings, special motion settings, and scheduling should initially be with the Court Scheduler at (360) 337-7008.

(B) Visiting Judge Required. The court shall be notified at the time of trial setting if an attorney practicing in Kitsap County is a party or a witness in any matter before the court or of any other matter needing a visiting judge.

(2) Special Settings. Any motions not preassigned requiring more than ten (10) minutes per side, or other matters requiring a special setting by reason of time requirements, the nature of the hearing, or the need for a visiting judge, shall be set by the Court Scheduler either by agreement of counsel and/or pro se parties or as ordered by the court. If the matter is preassigned, arrangements should be made with the preassigned judge’s law clerk. Special set matters must be confirmed pursuant to KCLCR 77(k)(10).

(3) Mental Illness Hearings. Mental illness hearings will be set for hearing through the Court Scheduler.

(4) Standby Calendar. In the event that a case cannot be heard on the date set for trial it will be held on a standby calendar and counsel will be given a minimum of two (2) hours notice for trial.

(A) Notification. The Court Scheduler shall contact the attorney or persons appearing without counsel to advise them of the standby status of their case.

(B) Judge Pro Tempore. Standby cases shall have the option to proceed before a judge pro tempore and those cases shall be given a priority for trial.

(C) Standby Calendar at Counsel Request. A standby calendar at counsel request may be created with the following conditions and addressed to the Court Scheduler.
     (i) Trial Kitsap County Superior Court. If an attorney is in another trial in Kitsap County Superior Court.
     (ii) Trial Other Courts. If an attorney has a conflict with another Superior Court, Appellate Court, or Federal Court, with the approval of the Presiding Judge.
     (iii) Emergency. If an illness or other emergency situation arises involving the litigants, witnesses, or lawyers, with the approval of the Presiding Judge.
     (iv) Other Requests. Any other request must be made to the Presiding Judge.
     (v) Pending Settlement. Cases pending settlement will not be placed on standby at counsel request, but may be reset.

(5) Notice to Court of Calendar and Jury Trial Changes. Whenever a cause has been set for trial and thereafter is settled or will not be tried for any reason, or if a jury is thereafter waived, notice shall immediately be given to the Court Scheduler.

(6) Case Management. Counsel shall designate at the time of trial setting that the case falls within one of the following categories:

     Track I Standard/General Civil Litigation
     Track II Complex Litigation
     Track III Domestic Relations
Assignment to Track II requires court approval. Once designated, counsel shall comply with the tracking procedures set forth in KCLCR 40(b)(6)(B).

(A) TRACK I Standard/General Civil Litigation.

(i) Counsel notes case for trial setting. (See Exhibit A.)
Case is preassigned to a specific judge and a Case Event Schedule is ordered.

(ii) Scope. Except as otherwise provided in these rules or as otherwise ordered by the court, this rule shall apply to all civil cases except:
     • Cases transferred to mandatory arbitration, dissolutions, separations,
       support modifications and domestic matters
     • Adoptions
     • Domestic violence
     • Civil harassment
     • URESA cases
     • Juvenile proceedings
     • Paternities
     • Minor Settlements
     • Probates
     • Guardianships
     • Unlawful Detainers
     • Reviews of administrative agency actions
     • Appeals from courts of limited jurisdiction
     • Foreign judgments
     • Petitions for writs of mandamus, restitution, etc.
     • Civil commitments
     • Proceedings under RCW 70.96A

(iii) Order Setting Civil Case Event Schedule. At the time a matter is noted for trial, the Court Scheduler shall randomly preassign a department of the Superior Court to hear the case. The court shall enter an Order Setting Trial Date and Civil Case Event Schedule in the form as set forth in Exhibit I of these rules.

(iv) Amendment of Order Setting Case Event Schedule. Upon motion of any party or the court, and upon good cause shown, the preassigned judge may modify any date in the original Order Setting Trial Date and Civil Case Event Schedule. Copies of said amended order shall be filed and served upon all parties.

(v) Additional Parties. A party who joins an additional party in an action shall be responsible for serving the additional party with the current Order Setting Trial Date and Civil Case Event Schedule together with the first pleading served on the additional party.

(vi) Time Intervals for Case Event Schedule. Except as otherwise provided in the rules, or as otherwise ordered by the court upon good cause shown, the parties and counsel shall comply with the following events and time schedules:

Case at issue and noted for trial, assignment to judicial department and assignment of trial date:

     Last day to file motions to join parties   -    60 days from trial setting date
     Discovery Cutoff    -     120 days before trial date
     Last day to hear dispositive Pretrial Motions   -  90 days before trial date
     Mandatory Settlement Conference  - Not less than 30 days before trial date
     Trial Date

(vii) Enforcement. The court on its own initiative, or on motion of a party, may order an attorney or party to show cause as to why sanctions or terms should not be imposed for failure to comply with the case schedule established by these rules. If the court finds that an attorney or party has failed to comply with the case schedule and has no reasonable excuse or other good cause, the court may order the attorney or party to pay monetary sanctions to the court, or terms to any attorney or party who has incurred expense as a result of the failure to comply, or both. In addition, the court may impose such other sanctions or terms as justice requires. As used in this rule, Terms means costs, reasonable attorney fees and other expenses incurred or to be incurred as a result of the failure to comply; Monetary Sanctions means a financial penalty payable to the court, and Other Sanctions includes, but is not limited to, the exclusion of evidence and other sanctions available pursuant to the Civil Rules and Local Court Rules.

(viii) Discovery Cutoff. Unless otherwise ordered by the court for good cause and subject to such terms and conditions as are just, all discovery allowed under Civil Rules 26-37, including responses and supplements thereto, must be completed no later than the date specified in the Civil Case Event Schedule. Discovery requests must be served early enough that responses will be due and depositions will have been taken prior to the cutoff date. Nothing in this rule shall modify a party’s responsibility to seasonably supplement responses to discovery requests or otherwise to comply with discovery prior to the cutoff, nor shall a party be prevented from seeking relief under CR 37 after the cutoff date for discovery properly sought in accordance with this rule.

(ix) Dispositive Pretrial Motions. No hearings on dispositive pretrial motions shall be heard by the court after the cutoff date specified in the Civil Case Event Schedule, except upon good cause shown and upon such terms and conditions as the court may deem just, including assessment of terms and sanctions.

(x) Settlement Conference. [See KCLCR 16(c)(2).]

(B) TRACK II Complex Litigation.
(i) Request for assignment to Civil Track II may be made by filing Exhibit A (Request for Trial Setting) in conjunction with Exhibit B (Request for Assignment to Civil Track II). Alternatively, plaintiff or defendant may move for placement on Track II at filing or when an answer is filed by bringing the motion on the Presiding Judge's departmental calendar. The court may place a case on Track II on its own motion at any time. (See Exhibits A and B.)

(ii) Criteria to be considered for placement on Track II:
     1) Nature of subject matter
     2) Degree of complexity
     3) Amount in controversy
     4) Number of attorneys/parties involved
     5) Length of trial

(iii) Presiding Judge accepts or denies request and notifies counsel. Case shall be preassigned to a specific judge.

(iv) A case must be at issue at the time of the initial management conference. The initial management conference shall be held within sixty (60) days of acceptance into Track II.

     1) Trial date assigned
     2) Case management schedule approved by court
     3) Mandatory settlement conference set

(v) Amendment of Order Setting Case Schedule. Upon written motion of any party or the court, and upon good cause shown, the preassigned judge may modify any date in the order setting forth the case event schedule and trial date. Copies of said amended order shall be filed and served upon all parties.

(vi) Motions to limit the introduction of evidence should be presented for resolution not later than the regular motion day immediately preceding the assigned trial date or such other date as may be set by the court.

Failure to comply with this rule may result in the court’s refusal to hear such motion on the day of trial or in the imposition of terms in favor of both the adversely affected party or parties and to Kitsap County for the expense caused by resulting delays.

(vii) Cases under the Land Use Petition Act, RCW 36.70C. When a land use petition (pursuant to RCW 36.70C) is filed with the Kitsap County Superior Court, all such cases shall be treated as Track II complex litigation and in accordance with the following procedures:

Pre-Assignment to a Superior Court Judge. Land Use Petition Act cases shall be assigned to a superior court judge, who shall hear and decide all matters in the case.

Notice of Land Use Petition. Within three (3) days of the filing of a petition under the Land Use Petition Act, RCW 36.70C, the petitioner shall provide written notice of the filed petition to the Kitsap County Court Scheduler, identify it as a Land Use Petition Act case, and ask that the case be assigned to a judge.

Case Scheduling. Within seven (7) days after the Land Use Petition is served on all parties, the petitioner shall note an initial hearing before the assigned judge. RCW 36.70C.080(l).

Initial Hearing. The initial hearing shall be held no sooner than thirty-five (35) days and no later than fifty (50) days after service of the petition is accomplished. RCW 36.70C.080(l). All motions on jurisdictional and procedural issues are to be noted for the initial hearing. Parties bringing such motions are responsible for confirming their own motions. A scheduling order setting the dates for filing the record, submitting briefs, and hearings will be issued at or shortly after the initial hearing. The parties should attempt to determine a mutually agreed upon scheduling order prior to the initial hearing. The parties may waive the initial hearing by filing a stipulated order resolving jurisdictional and procedural issued raised by the petition and setting a schedule for briefing, filing the record and transcripts and a hearing on the merits. Prior to filing a stipulated scheduling order, the petitioner shall contact the Court Scheduler to obtain a tentative hearing date.

Discovery. The parties may not conduct pretrial discovery except with the prior permission of the court, which may be sought by motion at any time after a judge has been assigned to the case. RCW 36.70C.120(5). Discovery shall be limited as provided in RCW 36.70C.120(5), and if allowed, shall be completed as is required to accommodate the briefing and hearing schedule.

Preparation of Administrative Record. Within forty-five (45) days after entry of a scheduling order, or within such a further time as allowed by the court or as the parties agree, the local jurisdiction shall submit a certified copy of the record for judicial review. RCW 36.70C.110(l). Prior to filing of the record, the petitioner shall pay the costs for the preparation of the administrative record in accordance with RCW 36.70C. 110(3). Failure by the petitioner to timely pay the local jurisdiction relieves the local jurisdiction of responsibility to submit the record and is grounds for dismissal of the petition. RCW 36.70C.110(3). Copies of the administrative record shall be provided to all parties. A bench copy of the record with an index and document identification tabs shall be provided to the assigned judge, and this bench copy shall not be destroyed, but should be kept with the court file. A copy of the administrative record without side tabs shall be filed with the Superior Court Clerk for the court file.

Preparation of Transcripts. Within forty-five (45) days after entry of a scheduling order, or within such a further time as allowed by the court or as the parties agree, the petitioner shall file verbatim transcripts of administrative hearings on the matter. RCW 36.70C.110(l). Preparation of verbatim transcripts of all administrative hearings shall be at the petitioner's expense. Verbatim transcripts shall be prepared by a certified court reporter and submitted to all parties for a period of seven days for correction of errors prior to filing.

Briefs. The petitioner shall have at least thirty (30) days after the record and verbatim transcripts are filed to file and serve its brief Respondent's brief shall be filed and served thirty (30) days following filing and service of the petitioner's brief. Petitioner shall have an additional fourteen (14) days for filing a service of a reply brief. Reply briefs are in strict reply only. If a reply brief raises new issues, respondent may respond to those issues. In all statements of fact, briefs shall contain citations to the administrative record and the transcripts. Citations to the administrative record and the transcripts shall be denoted “AR” and " HR [date]," respectively, plus a page number.

Hearing on the Merits. The hearing on the merits shall occur within sixty (60) days after the record and verbatim transcripts are served and filed, absent a showing of good cause for a different date or a stipulation of the parties. RCW 36.70C.090. Unless otherwise granted at the initial hearing, the Land Use Petition Act hearing on the merits shall be scheduled for one (1) day. The assigned judge shall take the first half of the day for reviewing the record, transcripts and briefs. The assigned judge will determine the amount of time granted for argument on the merits.

Related Matters. If a LUPA petition is consolidated with another claim, such as a damage action, the case may be bifurcated on stipulation of the parties or pursuant to motion. If the related matter is not bifurcated and entails a trial, a note for trial setting shall not be filed until after the record and transcripts are filed and served.

(C) TRACK III - Domestic Relations.

(i) Within ninety (90) days of the case at issue, Petitioner or Respondent shall file a Note for Settlement Conference & Trial Setting Domestic Relations (as set forth in Exhibit C).

(ii) A mandatory settlement conference shall be set within forty-five (45) days of the date noted for trial setting. Settlement conferences are mandatory and shall be confirmed before 12:00 noon the day before such conference is scheduled. [See KCLCR 16 (c)(3).]

(iii) If the case is not settled at settlement conference, the court will assign a trial date, not more than 120 days from the date of the settlement
conference. Exceptions shall be addressed to the settlement conference
judge.

(iv) Upon written stipulation of the parties, or upon motion of party, the court may order a change or continuance of the trial date, special set hearing, support modification hearing, or settlement conference date.

(v) All support modifications will be heard by affidavit, ten (10) minutes per side for argument unless the court requests additional affidavits or an order authorizing oral testimony is granted. Hearings will be set within ninety (90) days from noting. Petitioner’s affidavit shall be submitted not later than fourteen (14) days before the hearing. Respondent’s affidavit shall be submitted not later than seven (7) days before the hearing. The reply affidavit shall be submitted not later than 12:00 noon the day before the hearing. Settlement conferences are not required for support modifications.

RULE 47. JURORS

(a) Examination of Jurors.

(1) At the commencement of trial the clerk will assign numbers randomly, beginning with the number 1, to all jurors called for trial. If a criminal defendant objects to this procedure, the numbers will be drawn by the clerk in open court at the beginning of the trial.

(A) Prior to the questioning of prospective jurors by counsel, the court will allow time for counsel to review juror profiles and questionnaires.

(B) These jurors will be given large badges with their assigned numbers on them. These will be large enough to be easily read by the court, counsel, and the court reporter. The jurors will arrange themselves in order as directed by the court.

(C) If alternate jurors are to be selected, the parties are encouraged to stipulate that all peremptory challenges will be exercised against the entire panel. Otherwise, each side will only be allowed the number of peremptory challenge(s) against the alternate juror or jurors as allowed by CR 47(b).

(2) The court will then ask general questions of the prospective jurors.

     (A) General questions means those questions that are designed to discover those jurors who should be excused for cause (e.g., those prospective jurors who are related to a party or who cannot be available for the full time the trial is estimated to take).

     (B) Counsel may request general questions to be asked by the court as long as they meet the definition in Section (3)(A), above.

(3) After prospective jurors have been excused for cause, the court may excuse those jurors who are in excess of the number needed for the trial. The number needed for trial will be equal to twelve (12), plus the number of alternates, plus the total number of peremptory challenges to which all parties are entitled, plus two (2) to five (5) additional as a cushion for possible additional challenges for cause.

(4) Counsel will then question the remaining prospective jurors.

     (A) Each side will have ninety (90) minutes for questioning. Each side may reserve that amount of the allotted time as allowed by the court for additional questions following the questioning by the other side.

          (i) Any time expended in arguing a challenge for cause will not be charged to either side.

     (B) The times set forth in (5)(A) above may be expanded by the court for good cause shown, such as an extremely complicated case or multiple parties.

     (C) Counsel may use their allotted time in any manner and may question prospective jurors in any order. Counsel may ask group questions or ask jurors to respond to remarks made by other members of the jury panel. (e.g., the first question may be addressed to juror #3 in the box, then a question to juror #21 on the benches, then to juror #9 in the box, then back to juror #3 in the box, then a question addressed to the entire panel, or just to jurors #3 and #9, etc.)

     (D) Challenges for cause must be made when they are discovered.

     (E) Objections to questions are made in the usual manner.

     (F) If counsel is pursuing an important issue that relates to the qualifications of the prospective jurors to serve, and time has run out, counsel may request that the court grant additional time.

     (G) The entire panel of prospective jurors is passed for cause when counsel so announces or when the time allotted has been consumed.

     (H) The procedure set forth in this rule shall not apply to cases involving charges of aggravated first degree murder as defined by RCW 10.95.020 if a notice of special sentencing proceeding has been filed.

(5) The parties then exercise their peremptory challenges.

     (A) All peremptory challenges shall be exercised in open court.

     (B) Challenges may be made to jurors who are not seated in the box.

     (C) When a peremptory challenge is exercised, the next juror on the bench with the lowest number shall replace the juror who was excused from the jury box.

     (D) The parties are encouraged to stipulate regarding peremptory challenges per Rule 47(a)(2)(A).

     (E) Upon request of counsel, time will be allowed between voir dire and the exercise of peremptory challenges.

(6) Additional provisions.

     (A) Counsel may submit, and the court may allow, special questionnaires focused to the specific case (or type of case) to be submitted to the jurors to answer on the morning of trial before the voir dire process begins. Copies will be made and available to counsel during the questioning of the jurors. Counsel must submit proposed questionnaires to the court and serve copies on opposing counsel at least five days prior to trial. If this is not done, the court, in its discretion, may not allow special questionnaires. (If a standard questionnaire has been adopted by the court for particular types of cases, counsel may refer to the standard questionnaire rather than serving copies.)

(k) Jury - Jurors. Jurors shall be called on a one trial/one day basis. Those persons selected to serve on a jury will be obligated for the duration of that one trial. Those not seated on a jury by the end of the selection will have fulfilled their jury obligation.

RULE 51. INSTRUCTIONS TO JURY AND DELIBERATION

(b) Submission.

(1) Filing. Instructions shall be served and filed by 9:00 a.m. of the first day of trial.

(2) Assembling and Distribution. Jury instructions shall be assembled and distributed as follows:

     (A) One set to trial judge to be unnumbered without citations.

     (B) One set numbered and with supporting citations to each of the following:
          1) Clerk for file
          2) Judge for work copy
          3) Counsel for each opposing party

     (C) One set containing unnumbered instructions without citations submitted electronically on floppy disk, CD or by email attachment (to address provided by the trial judge). The jury instructions should be in Word, WordPerfect or ASCII format.

     (D) Jury instructions shall comply with the following formatting requirements:
          1) Formatted for 8-1/2" x 11" paper
          2) One inch margins on all sides, except for verdict form which should have a three-inch top margin on the first page
          3) Set for double-spacing
          4) Arial Font, 14 point font size

(d) Published Instructions.

     (1) Citations. Washington Pattern Jury Instructions are to be cited. On the copy of proposed jury instructions delivered to the trial court, the clerk, and opposing counsel, those Washington Pattern Jury Instructions proposed shall be so identified by WPI number. If the WPI is changed or modified in any way (except for the selection of alternate WPI wording), the citation shall include the word modified. Modifications shall be identified on the numbered sets.