WA · rules
Wash. Gen. R. 20
Security in Handling Court Exhibits
(a) Hazardous, Valuable, and Bulky Exhibits. Upon petition of the clerk or any party
and order of the court, a hazardous exhibit, money, an item of negotiable value, or an item
deemed to be excessively bulky may be admitted and then withdrawn upon the substitution of
photograph(s), videotape(s), samples or other facsimile representations as provided by the order.
The photograph(s), videotape(s), samples or other facsimile representations may be used to
demonstrate the existence, quantity, and physical characteristic of the evidence. The order shall
direct the disposition of the original evidence and shall state whether the evidence shall be further
documented by a descriptive certificate issued by an authorized agency.
(b) Controlled Substances. When controlled substances or samples thereof are presented
in court, such items shall be presented under sealed evidence tape in containers whose labels
describe their contents. Sealed controlled substances presented as exhibits shall be unsealed in
open court and, upon completion of the action for which unsealing was ordered, the item shall be
sealed again.
(c) Original Exhibit. When a photograph, videotape, or other facsimile representation is
substituted, the original exhibit must be retained by the presenting party or agency until at least
sixty (60) days following case completion and must produce the original exhibit upon the court’s
direction. Case completion is defined as the date of filing of the judgment of acquittal, final
judgment, or dismissal, or the date the judgment becomes final after appeal.
(d) Appeal. Exhibits handled under these rules shall have the same standing for purposes
of appeal as would the original exhibits.
(e) Hazardous Exhibits. For purposes of this rule, “hazardous exhibit” means an exhibit
that unreasonably threatens the health and safety of persons handling the exhibit, including
exhibits having potentially toxic, explosive, or disease-carrying characteristics. Nonexclusive
examples of hazardous exhibits include firearms, knives and other weapons, live ammunition,
controlled substances, bodily fluid samples, and bloody clothing.
History
[Adopted effective September 1, 1997; Amended effective September 1, 2000.]
Provenance
- Source
- www.courts.wa.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-16
- Edition
- 2026-09-16
- Content hash
7f632a246b9f1b59cc3e0e0ab5186d0a873c8ede3e9fc3f438b31f9ec461fb98
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