WA · rules
Wash. R. App. P. 4.2
Direct Review of Superior Court Decision by Supreme Court
(a) Type of Cases Reviewed Directly. A party may seek review in the Supreme Court of
a decision of a superior court that is subject to review as provided in Title 2 only in the following
types of cases:
(1) Authorized by Statute. A case in which a statute authorizes direct review in the
Supreme Court.
(2) Law Unconstitutional. A case in which the trial court has held invalid a statute,
ordinance, tax, impost, assessment, or toll, upon the ground that it is repugnant to the United
States Constitution, the Washington State Constitution, a statute of the United States, or a treaty.
(3) Conflicting Decisions. A case involving an issue in which there is a conflict among
decisions of the Court of Appeals or an inconsistency in decisions of the Supreme Court.
(4) Public Issues. A case involving a fundamental and urgent issue of broad public import
which requires prompt and ultimate determination.
(5) Action against State Officer. An action against a state officer in the nature of quo
warranto, prohibition, injunction, or mandamus.
(b) Procedure for Seeking Direct Review. A party seeking direct review of a superior
court decision in the Supreme Court must file a notice of appeal or notice of discretionary review
directed to the Supreme Court. Within 15 days after filing the notice of appeal or notice for
discretionary review, the party seeking direct review must serve on all other parties and file in
the Supreme Court a statement of grounds for direct review in the form provided in section (c).
(c) Form of Statement of Grounds for Direct Review. The statement should be
captioned "Statement of Grounds for Direct Review," contain the title of the case as provided in
rule 3.4, conform to the formatting requirements of RAP 18.17, and contain under appropriate
headings and in the order here indicated:
(1) Nature of the Case and Decision. A short statement of the substance of the case below
and the basis for the superior court decision;
(2) Issues Presented for Review. A statement of each issue the party intends to present for
review; and
(3) Grounds for Direct Review. The grounds upon which the party contends direct review
should be granted.
The statement of grounds for direct review should comply with the length limitations of
RAP 18.17.
(d) Answer to Statement of Grounds for Direct Review. A respondent may file an
answer to the statement of grounds for direct review. In an appeal, the answer should be filed
within 14 days after service of the statement on respondent. In a discretionary review, the answer
should be filed with any response to the motion for discretionary review. The answer should
comply with the formatting requirements and length limitations of RAP 18.17.
(e) Effect of Denial of Direct Review.
(1) Appealable Decision. If the Supreme Court denies direct review of a superior court
decision appealable as a matter of right, the case will be transferred without prejudice and
without costs to the Court of Appeals for determination.
(2) Discretionary Review. A motion for discretionary review in the Supreme Court of a
superior court decision may be granted, denied, or transferred to the Court of Appeals for
determination. If the Supreme Court denies a motion for discretionary review of a superior court
decision, the moving party may not file the same motion in the Court of Appeals.
References
Form 4, Statement of Grounds for Direct Review.
History
[Adopted effective July 1, 1976; Amended effective September 1, 1990; September 1, 1994; January 27, 1998; September 1, 2010; September 1, 2021; September 1, 2026.]
Provenance
- Source
- www.courts.wa.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-16
- Edition
- 2026-09-16
- Content hash
c91a57025b400af74aca113eb22e02e82698cac1e05ea235b2baf217d8cf35b4
The link goes to the issuing authority’s own document — the one we read to produce this record. Where a source publishes whole titles rather than sections, your browser may need a moment to jump to the provision.
Unofficial copy of government-published law, reproduced from official sources with full provenance. Not an official publication; verify against official sources before relying on it in a filing. Records in the 'guidance' corpus, and only that corpus, are sub-regulatory (interpretive guidelines, survey procedures) and are not binding law. Validity bounds follow each jurisdiction's declared temporalBasis.