wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > HB 1815 > Substitute Bill
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For the purposes of this chapter, except for RCW 9.94.010, the term "correctional institution" means any place designated by law for the keeping of persons held in custody under process of law, or under lawful arrest, including state prisons, county and local jails, juvenile detention centers, and other facilities operated by the department of corrections, department of children, youth, and families, or local governmental units primarily for the purposes of punishment, correction, or rehabilitation following conviction or adjudication of a criminal offense.
For the purposes of RCW 9.94.010, the term "correctional institution" means any place designated by law primarily for the keeping of persons age 18 or older held in custody under process of law, or under lawful arrest, including state prisons, county and local adult jails, and other facilities operated by the department of corrections, or local governmental units primarily for the purposes of punishment, correction, or rehabilitation following conviction or adjudication of a criminal offense. For the purposes of RCW 9.94.010, the term "correctional institution" does not include facilities operated by the department of children, youth, and families or county juvenile detention facilities.
For the purposes of RCW 9.94.043 and 9.94.045, "state correctional institution" means all state correctional facilities under the supervision of the secretary of the department of corrections used solely for the purpose of confinement of convicted felons.
Except as provided in subsection (5) of this section, every offender who has been discharged under RCW 9.94A.637 may apply to the sentencing court for a vacation of the offender's record of conviction. If the court finds the offender meets the tests prescribed in subsection (2) of this section, the court may clear the record of conviction by: (a) Permitting the offender to withdraw the offender's plea of guilty and to enter a plea of not guilty; or (b) if the offender has been convicted after a plea of not guilty, by the court setting aside the verdict of guilty; and (c) by the court dismissing the information or indictment against the offender.
An offender may not have the record of conviction cleared if:
There are any criminal charges against the offender pending in any court of this state or another state, or in any federal court;
The offense was a violent offense as defined in RCW 9.94A.030 or crime against persons as defined in RCW 43.43.830, except the following offenses may be vacated if the conviction did not include a firearm, deadly weapon, or sexual motivation enhancement: (i) Assault in the second degree under RCW 9A.36.021; (ii) assault in the third degree under RCW 9A.36.031 when not committed against a law enforcement officer or peace officer; and (iii) robbery in the second degree under RCW 9A.56.210;
The offense is a class B felony and the offender has been convicted of a new crime in this state, another state, or federal court in the ten years prior to the application for vacation;
The offense is a class C felony and the offender has been convicted of a new crime in this state, another state, or federal court in the five years prior to the application for vacation;
The offense is a class B felony and less than ten years have passed since the later of: (i) The applicant's release from community custody; (ii) the applicant's release from full and partial confinement; or (iii) the applicant's sentencing date;
The offense was a class C felony, other than a class C felony described in RCW 46.61.502(6) or 46.61.504(6), and less than five years have passed since the later of: (i) The applicant's release from community custody; (ii) the applicant's release from full and partial confinement; or (iii) the applicant's sentencing date; or
The offense was a felony described in RCW 46.61.502 or 46.61.504.
If the applicant is a victim of sex trafficking, prostitution, or commercial sexual abuse of a minor; sexual assault; or domestic violence as defined in RCW 9.94A.030, the victim or the prosecutor of the county in which the victim was sentenced may apply to the sentencing court or the sentencing court's successor to vacate the victim's record of conviction for a class B or class C felony offense using the process in RCW 9.94A.648. When preparing or filing the petition, the prosecutor is not deemed to be providing legal advice or legal assistance on behalf of the victim, but is fulfilling an administrative function on behalf of the state in order to further their responsibility to seek to reform and improve the administration of criminal justice. A record of conviction vacated using the process in RCW 9.94A.648 is subject to subsection (4) of this section.
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Except as otherwise provided, once the court vacates a record of conviction under subsection (1) of this section, the fact that the offender has been convicted of the offense shall not be included in the offender's criminal history for purposes of determining a sentence in any subsequent conviction, and the offender shall be released from all penalties and disabilities resulting from the offense. For all purposes, including responding to questions on employment applications, an offender whose conviction has been vacated may state that the offender has never been convicted of that crime. A conviction that has been vacated under this section may not be disseminated or disclosed by the state patrol or local law enforcement agency to any person, except other criminal justice enforcement agencies. Nothing in this section affects or prevents the use of an offender's prior conviction in a later criminal prosecution, and nothing in this section affects the requirements for restoring a right to possess a firearm under RCW 9.41.040.
A conviction vacated on or after July 28, 2019, qualifies as a prior conviction for the purpose of charging a present recidivist offense occurring on or after July 28, 2019, and may be used to establish an ongoing pattern of abuse for purposes of RCW 9.94A.535.
Every person convicted of a prison riot offense under RCW 9.94.010 who was incarcerated in a facility operated by the department of children, youth, and families or a county juvenile detention facility at the time of the offense may apply to the sentencing court for a vacation of the applicant's record of adjudication or conviction for the offense. If an applicant qualifies under this subsection, the court shall vacate the record of conviction or adjudication.
In any criminal case where an offender has been sentenced for an offense where a conviction or adjudication for a prison riot offense that occurred in a facility operated by the department of children, youth, and families or a county juvenile detention facility was used as a basis for the offender's sentence, the prosecuting attorney shall, or the offender may, make a motion for relief from sentence to the original sentencing court.
The sentencing court shall grant the motion for relief from sentence established in this section if it finds that a current or past conviction or adjudication for a prison riot offense that occurred in a facility operated by the department of children, youth, and families or a county juvenile detention facility was used as a basis for the offender's sentence and shall immediately set an expedited date for resentencing. At resentencing, the court shall sentence the offender as if the current or past conviction for a prison riot offense that occurred in a facility operated by the department of children, youth, and families or a county juvenile detention facility did not occur.
In any juvenile offender case where an offender has been sentenced for an offense where an adjudication for a prison riot offense that occurred in a facility operated by the department of children, youth, and families or a county juvenile detention facility was used as a basis for the offender's sentence or disposition, the prosecuting attorney shall, or the offender may, make a motion for relief from disposition to the original court that imposed the disposition.
The court that imposed the disposition shall grant the motion for relief from disposition established in this section if it finds that a current or past adjudication for a prison riot offense that occurred in a facility operated by the department of children, youth, and families or a county juvenile detention facility was used as a basis for the offender's disposition and shall immediately set an expedited date for resentencing. At resentencing, the court shall impose a disposition as if the current or past adjudication for a prison riot offense that occurred in a facility operated by the department of children, youth, and families or a county juvenile detention facility did not occur.
Section 1 of this act applies retroactively to all prison riot convictions or adjudications and prison riot offenses that have been charged.