WashingtonJury Nullification
In Washington the pattern instructions tell jurors it is their duty to accept the law from the judge's instructions, regardless of what they personally believe the law is or think it should be. Jurors first hear that before they are questioned for selection. A court rule says the verdict form is signed when all members of the jury agree. The state constitution says the right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate.
Overview
Juries in Washington
Washington's pattern instruction says it is your duty to accept the law from the judge's instructions, regardless of what you personally believe the law is or what you personally think it should be. The state constitution tells judges to declare the law and not to charge juries on matters of fact.
Washington reads a version of that instruction earlier than the evidence. Possible jurors hear that the instructions are binding before anyone has asked them a question. What the committee that writes the instructions says about why is in the Washington chapter of the guide.
A Washington court rule says the presiding juror signs the verdict form when all members of the jury agree. Another rule limits what a judge can say to a jury once it is deliberating. What those limits are is in the chapter.
The Washington chapter
What's in the Guide for Washington?
Jury selection
What possible jurors in Washington are told before they are questioned, and how the instructions are settled with the lawyers before the judge reads them.
What the judge tells you
What the Washington pattern instructions say about the law and a juror's own beliefs, what the committee's printed comment says about them, and what the state constitution tells a judge to do and not do.
How the verdict works
How a Washington verdict is signed once every juror agrees, how a jury is polled, and what a judge may not suggest to a jury that is still deliberating.
Protections and risks
What Washington law says about threatening a juror, including a former juror because of a vote, about trying to reach a juror outside the trial, and how a jury puts a question to the judge.
The law in plain English
The Washington laws behind the chapter in everyday words. They include the laws on intimidating a juror and on jury tampering, the court rules on instructions and on verdicts, and the sections of the constitution on trial by jury, on the rights of the accused and on what judges tell juries.
Official state resources
Links to Washington's official sources, each one checked. They cover the Revised Code and constitution on the legislature's site, the Washington Courts' rules, the pattern criminal jury instructions on the portal the courts designate, and the Washington Courts' Jury Service page.
Your summons
Called for Jury Duty in Washington?
A Washington jury summons asks you to come to court. Before you are asked a single question, you will hear that the judge's instructions on the law are binding.
The Washington Courts have a Jury Service page. It covers reporting, who can serve, and how to ask to be excused.
That page covers serving. What you are told before selection starts, how a verdict is signed and polled, and what the law says about anyone who threatens or contacts a juror are covered in the Washington chapter of the guide.
Your Washington summons
- Sent byThe county clerk
- It asks you toCome to court
- Jury size12 (Superior Court); at least 6 if all defendants elect in a noncapital case