Courts

SPMGR 30 Electronic Signatures and Filing

(a) Reserved by state rule

• (1-5) Reserved by state rule
• (6) "Conventional manner of filing" - The filing of paper documents with the Clerk as is done in cases that are not e-filed cases.
• (7) "ePortal" - The eSuite electronic filing system used pay the Spokane Municipal Court.
• (8) "Electronic Document" ("e-document") - An electronic file containing informational text.
• (9) "Electronic Filing" or "e-filing" - The electronic transmission of information to a court or clerk for the purpose of case processing.
• (10) "Electronic Image" ("e-image") - An electronic representation of a document that has been transformed to a graphical or image format.
• (11) "Electronic Service" ("e-service") - An electronic transmission of documents to a party, attorney, or representative in a case via transmission via the ePortal. However, e-service is not capable of conferring jurisdiction under circumstances where personal service is required as a matter of law.
• (12) "PDF" - Portable Document Format (PDF) - A file format that preserves all fonts, formatting, colors, and graphics of any source document regardless of the application platform used.
• (13) "Subscriber" - one contracting with a Vendor to use the e-filing system.

(b) Reserved by state rule

• (1-4) Reserved by state rule
• (5) Mandatory Electronic Filing.
  • (A) All attorneys shall electronically file all documents, including emergency pleadings, using the e-filing application, unless this rule provides otherwise.
  • ((B) Non-attorneys or pro-se parties are not required to e-file but may do so.
• (6) Documents That Shall Not Be e-filed. The following documents must be filed in paper form rather than e-filed.
  • (A) Documents submitted for in camera review, or documents supporting motions to seal, including documents submitted pursuant to GR 15;
  • (B) Documents presented for filing during a court hearing or trial;
  • (C) Documents incapable of legible conversion to an electronic format by scanning, imaging, or any other means;
  • (D) Documents from governments or other courts under official seal, excluding a copy that is e-filed as an exhibit to another document, such as a pleading, by leave of the Court;
  • (E) Motion and orders related to the sealing or redacting of court records under GR 15.
• (7) eFiling of Special Documents. Under the conditions identified, the following documents may be e-filed.
  • (A) Appeals
    • (i) If filed electronically, the filing party must retain the original document during the pendency of any appeal and until at least sixty (60) days after completion of the case, including the expiration of any time period for review and/or appeal, and shall present the original document to the Court if requested to do so. This does not include documents that are or will be submitted as an exhibit in a hearing or trial.
  • (B) Working Copies
    • (i) Judges' working copies for certain e-filed documents associated are required as provided in SPMCrRLJ 8.2(d),
• (8) Maintenance of Original Documents:
  • (A) Anyone filing an electronic document that requires an original signature certifies by so filing, that the original signed document exists in the filing person's possession or that the document so filed is the original document as evidenced by the digital or electronic signature contained thereon. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, the filing party must retain the original document as signed either conventionally or electronically, until one year after the date that judgment has become final by the conclusion of direct review or the expiration of the time for seeking such review. The filing party shall make those signed originals available for inspection by the Court, the Clerk of the Court or by other counsel in the case, upon five (5) days' notice. At any time, the Clerk of the Court may request from the filing party a hard copy of an electronically filed document, which shall be provided within five (5) business days upon reasonable notice.
• (9) Privacy Issues:
  • (A) It is the responsibility of the filing party or counsel to ensure that documents filed electronically do not disclose previously or statutorily impounded or sealed information or private information defined in Supreme Court General Rule 15 and 31.
  • (B) All documents in confidential, impounded, or sealed cases must be submitted conventionally to the Clerk's office for filing. A party who has a legal basis for filing a document under seal without prior court order must electronically file a motion for leave to file under seal. The motion must include an explanation of how the document meets the legal standards for filing sealed documents. The document in question may not be attached to the motion as an attachment.
  • (C) In addition to the materials referenced in Supreme Court General Rules 15 and 31, parties and their counsel shall refrain from including, or shall redact where inclusion is necessary, the following personal identifiers from all documents electronically filed with the Court, including exhibits, thereto, unless a prosecuting authority or probation representative is requesting a warrant or unless otherwise ordered by the Court.
    • (i) Social Security Number and Driver's License Number - If an individual's social security number must be included in a document, only the last four digits of the number shall be used. An individual's Driver's License Number shall not be used.
    • (ii) Names of Minor Children - If the involvement of a minor child must be mentioned, only the initials of that child's name shall be used;
    • (iii) Financial Account Numbers - If financial account numbers are relevant, only the last four digits of these numbers shall be used.
• (10) Format of Documents:
  • (A) All electronically filed pleadings, documents, and other papers shall, to the extent practicable, be formatted in accordance with the applicable rules governing formatting of paper pleadings. Additionally, each electronically filed pleading and document shall include, either on the face of the document or a coversheet, the case caption and/or defendant's full name, case number, and the nature of the filing.
  • (B) Each electronically filed document shall also include the typed name, e-mail address, address, and telephone number of the attorney or pro se party filing such document. Attorneys shall include their Washington State Bar numbers on all documents requiring the attorney's signature.
  • (C) Documents must be converted to a text-searchable PDF compatible with the latest version of Adobe Reader. The computer file must not be password-protected, encrypted, or protected by rights management. Because scanning creates larger file sizes with images of lesser quality, scanning must be avoided when possible. To the extent possible, each text document must be converted directly into a PDF file using Adobe Acrobat, the word processing program's PDF conversion utility, or another software program. Any scanned materials must be made searchable using optical-character-recognition software, such as Adobe Acrobat. In the event that proposed orders are submitted in a case, the PDF of the proposed order must be generated directly from a word processing program.
    • (i) Any electronically filed document not requiring a judicial signature must be unalterable (such as sealed PDF), and be able to be printed with the same contents and formats as if printed from its authoring program.
      • a) The Court Clerk assigned to the screening of incoming e-filed document is required to verify each electronically filed document does not contain a virus or other malicious computer code. Materials submitted for e-filing found to contain a virus or malicious computer code shall be rejected for filing according to the provisions of paragraph 16(D) of this rule.
  • (D) Bulk Filings:
    • (i) Documents with different case numbers must be filed individually in separate transactions. Bulk filings of a document, or multiple documents combined, into one PDF document, associated with more than one case shall not be accepted, except as provided below.
      • a) Scheduling orders with multiple cases being co-scheduled for the same date and time are permitted. Scheduling Orders with multiple case numbers must be submitted/filed only on the first case number listed in the pleading caption. In such instances the submitting party will only receive electronic submission and filing confirmations on the specific case number the pleading was efiled in.
    • (ii) Bulk filings of multiple pleadings and/or documents combined into one PDF document shall not be accepted, except as provided below.
      • a) Documents or pleadings designated and individually marked as exhibits, appendices, or schedules, and which are attached to a primary pleading or document submitted for efiling, are acceptable and are not considered a “bulk filing”.
  • (E) Electronic documents containing links to material either within the filed document or external to the filed document are for convenience purposes only. The external material behind the link is not considered part of the filing or the basic record.
  • (F) A person who files a document electronically shall have the same responsibility as a person filing a document in the conventional manner for ensuring that the document is complete, readable, and properly filed.
  • (G) Documents not complying with the format and/or required content specified by the applicable statute, or local rule, shall be rejected for filing by the Court Clerk, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 16(D) of this rule.
  • (I) Nothing in this rule alters a party's obligation to serve documents on the opposing party.
• (11) Filing of Exhibits:
  • (A) Text Documents: See Formatting of Documents above.
  • (B) Physical exhibits: Physical items for which a photograph may be substituted may be electronically imaged as a PDF and e-filed. Items not conducive to electronic filing, such as documents under seal and physical exhibits for which an image will not suffice shall be filed in their physical form at the Clerk's Office or in the Courtroom, as directed by order of the Court and in conformity with Supreme Court "Electronic Filing Standards and Principles". The Motion and Notice of Motion for permission to file any of these physical items may be submitted electronically.
    • (i) All photographic exhibits that are required to be physically filed must be filed in JPEG, PNG, or TIFF formats and must be filed with the Court in one of the data storage media types identified in paragraph F of this rule.
  • (C) Audio exhibits: If an audio recording is part of the record, the audio file must be included as an MPEG-1 Audio-Layer 3 file (usually referred to as .mp3). The preferred sampling rate for the file is 44.1 kHz and the preferred bit rate for the audio file is 64 Kbits/second, though the Court may request bit rates as high as 128 Kbits/second. The mp3 audio files must use a constant bit rate. The files must not be password-protected, encrypted, or protected by rights management. Each audio file must not exceed 100 MB. If the recording is too long to fit in one file, it may be broken into multiple files.
    • (i) In the event a party has an audio exhibit in a non .mp3 format that cannot be converted to that format, upon approval of the Court, the party may file such audio exhibit in formats supported by media players identified in paragraph (E) below. If an exceptional circumstance requires use of a media player other than one identified in paragraph (E), then the submitter will comply with paragraph (E)(i).
  • (D) If a video recording is part of the record, the video file must be included as an MPEG-4 Part 14 file (usually referred to as .mp4). Data compression is encouraged; though the submitter must assure that the video and audio content have sufficient quality. The files should not be password-protected, encrypted, or protected by rights management. Each video file must not exceed 5 GB. If the recording is too long to fit in one file, it may be broken into multiple files.
    • (i) In the event a party has a video exhibit in a non .mp4 format that cannot be converted to that format, upon approval of the Court, the party may file such video exhibit in formats supported by media players identified in paragraph (E) below. If an exceptional circumstance requires use of a media player other than one identified in paragraph (E), then the submitter will comply with paragraph (E)(i).
  • (E) Media Players: The Court supports the following media players: Quick Time (Apple), VLC media player (VideoLAN Organization), or Windows media player (Microsoft).
    • (i) (i) If an audio or video exhibit requires a player not supported by the Court, the party receiving approval from the Court may file the exhibit with the software necessary to view or play the file included on the same Digital Video Disc or USB Flash Drive. It must be clearly noted that a non-supported player is included on the storage media and/or the cover sheet required under the provisions of paragraph (G) below.
  • (G) All photographic, audio, and video exhibits must be filed with the Court on a physical Digital Video Disc “DVD” or a USB Flash Drive, labeled with the case number and attached to a cover sheet with the case caption, the name and contact information of the submitting party, and a description of the contents of the exhibit.
  • (H) Separator Pages: If an exhibit number is not on the exhibit image or in the exhibit file name, there must be a video/photo frame or page preceding the image to show the exhibit number.
  • (I) Electronic Media Exhibits – File security
    All electronic photographic, audio, and/or video exhibits shall be screened by the Court to confirm the exhibit does not contain a virus or other malicious computer code. Materials submitted for filing found to contain a virus or malicious computer code shall be rejected for filing according to the provisions of paragraph 16(D) of this rule.
• (12) Waiver of the Requirement to e-file for attorneys:
  • (A) If e-filing is mandatory and an attorney is unable to e-file documents, the attorney may request a waiver from the Court. The attorney must make a showing of good cause and explain why paper document(s) must be filed in that particular case. The Court will make waiver request forms available on the court website. The Court will consider each application and provide a written approval or denial to the attorney. Waivers will be granted on a case-by-case basis. Attorneys who receive a waiver shall file a copy of the waiver in each case in which they file documents. Attorneys who receive a waiver shall place the words "Exempt from e-filing per waiver filed on (date)" in the caption of all paper documents filed for the duration of the waiver.
  • (B) Upon a showing of good cause the Court may waive the requirement as to a specific document or documents on a case by case basis.
• (13) Non-Compliance with this Rule: If an attorney files a document in paper form and does not have an approved waiver from e-filing, the Court may assess a $15.00 fee against the attorney for each paper document filed.
• (14) Character of e-filed items: Electronically filed court records have the same force and effect and are subject to the same right of public access as are documents that are not e-filed.
• (15) Time of Filing, Confirmation, and Rejection:
  • (A) Time of Filing
    • (i) A party whose filing is untimely as the result of a technical failure of the Court's e-filing application may seek appropriate relief from the Court. The Court shall consider its e-filing application to be subject to a technical failure if the site is unable to accept filings, either continuously or intermittently, for more than one hour after 10:00 a.m. on any court day. Known systems outages will be posted on the Court website. Users are responsible for monitoring the Court website to be aware of regularly scheduled down time for maintenance.
    • (ii) Problems on the filer's end (such as phone line problems, problems with the filer's Internet Service Provider, or hardware or software problems) will not constitute a technical failure under this rule, nor excuse an untimely filing. A filer who cannot file a document electronically because of a problem on the filer's end should explore other e-filing options. The filer's login and password will work on any computer that has internet access, e.g., at the library, home computer, or in commercial business service centers.
    • (iii) Filing a document electronically does not alter filing deadlines.
    • (iv) Any document filed electronically shall be considered as filed with the Clerk of the Court upon review and acceptance, and the transmission has been completed with the affixing of the Clerk's electronic filing stamp.
      • a) If the electronic filing is not filed with the Clerk because of (1) an error in the transmission of the document to the Court, which was unknown to the sending party or (2) A failure to process the electronic filing when received by the Court, the Court may, upon satisfactory proof, enter an order permitting the document to be subsequently filed effective as of the date filing was first attempted.
      • b) In the case of a filing error, absent extraordinary circumstances, anyone prejudiced by the Court's order to accept a subsequent filing effective as of the date filing was first attempted, shall be entitled to an order extending the date for any response, or the period within which any right, duty, or other act must be performed.
      • c) The transmission date and time of transfer shall govern the electronic file mark. Pleadings received by the Clerk before midnight on a day the courthouse is open shall be deemed filed that day. If filed on a day the courthouse is not open for business, the document will be deemed filed the next business day.
• (16) Confirmation of Filing:
  • (A) Upon receipt of submission of an electronic document to the Court, the Clerk shall issue a confirmation to the Subscriber. The confirmation shall indicate the time and date of receipt and serve as proof that the document has been submitted to the Clerk. A Subscriber will receive e-mail notification from the Clerk if a document is accepted or rejected for filing by the Clerk. In that event of rejection, the Subscriber may be required to re-file the document to meet necessary filing requirements.
  • (B) In the absence of the Court's confirmation of receipt and filing, there is no presumption that the Court received and filed the document. The filer is responsible for verifying that the Court received and filed any document that was submitted to the Court electronically using the Court's e-filing application.
  • (C) Each document reviewed and accepted for filing by the Clerk of Court shall receive an electronic file stamp. The stamp shall be endorsed in the name of the Clerk by the deputy clerk accepting the filing, and shall include the identification of the Court, the official time, and date of filing and contain the word "FILED". This file stamp shall be merged with the electronic document and shall be visible when the document is printed and viewed on-line. Electronic documents are not officially filed without the electronic filing stamp. Filings so endorsed shall have the same force and effect as documents time stamped in the conventional manner.
  • (D) Each document reviewed and rejected for filing by the Clerk of Court shall receive an electronic rejected file stamp. The stamp shall be endorsed in the name of the Clerk by the deputy clerk accepting the filing, and shall include the identification of the Court, the official time, and date of filing and contain the phrase "REJECTED FOR eFILING". This file stamp shall be merged with the electronic document and shall be visible when the document is printed and viewed on-line.
• (17) Authentication of Electronic Documents.
  • (A) Filers agree to protect the security of their login credentials, including passwords and immediately notify the Court if they learn that their login credentials have been compromised. Sharing of login credentials with anyone is strictly prohibited. Filers may be subject to sanctions for failure to comply with this provision.
  • (B) Any document filed electronically, including all pleadings, motions, documents, etc., using a verified user authentication shall be deemed to have been signed by the holder of the user authentication and shall bind the signer and function as the signer's signature for any purpose, including CRLJ 11.
    • (i) Documents containing facsimile or typographical signatures may be filed electronically and shall be deemed to have been signed in person by the individual.
    • (ii) When a document has been filed electronically, the official record is the electronic record of the document as stored by the Court, and the filing party is bound by the document as filed.
    • (iii) Original signatures of all non-electronic filers must be obtained before filing the document. The document must indicate the identity of each non-registered signatory. The filing party must retain the original document until one year after the date that the judgment has become final by the conclusion of direct review or the expiration of the time for seeking such review.
    • (iv) Where a Clerk is required to endorse a document, the typed name of the clerk shall be deemed to be the clerk's signature on an electronic document.
• (18) Collection of Fees:
  • (A) The e-filing of a document requiring payment of a statutory filing fee to the Clerk of the Court in order to achieve valid filing status shall be filed electronically in the same manner as any other e-file document.

(c) Reserved by state rule.

(d) Reserved by state rule.

• (1) Reserved by state rule
• (2) Reserved by state rule
  • (A-C) Reserved by state rule
  • (D) Law enforcement officer signatures on documents signed under penalty of perjury.
    • (i) Any document initiated by a law enforcement officer is presumed to have been signed when the officer uses his or her user ID and password to electronically submit the document to a court or prosecutor through the Statewide Electronic Collision & Traffic Online Records (SECTOR) application, the Law Enforcement Records Management System (LERMS), the Justice Information Network Data Exchange, Automated Traffic Safety (ATS) AxsisTM or the local secured system "Xpediter" used by the County of Spokane and City of Spokane. Unless otherwise specified, the signature shall be presumed to have been made under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Washington and on the date and at the place set forth in the citation.
  • (E) Judicial Electronic Signatures:
    • (i) Judicial officers may sign orders and search warrants with a digital or electronic signature, as defined in GR 30. In addition, documents may be signed by judicial officers using an electronic form that contains an electronic copy of the judicial officer's signature so long as the form is saved only on a directory that is accessible only by the judicial officers. and so long as the electronic signature is protected so that it cannot be electronically copied.
    • (ii) The printed version of these documents shall constitute an original order and shall be placed in, and become part of, the Court or search warrant return file.
    • (iii) Nothing herein alters the ability of the judge to sign documents in person or delegate the affixing of signatures by others if allowed by law or court rule.
    • (iv) This rule may be amended or supplemented during the year by general order.

(Adopted Sept. 1, 2011; amended effective June 23, 2011; amended effective Feb. 2, 2016;
amended effective Sept. 1, 2017; amended effective Sept. 1, 2019;
amended effective Sept. 1, 2021, amended effective Sept. 1, 2023)