Yakima County v. Yakima Herald-Republic

¶1 This case raises several issues, including (1) whether documents provided by an indigent defendant’s counsel to a superior court judge to obtain funding for expert services, attorney fees, and other defense costs and related documents are judicial documents governed by the court rules for disclosure or by the Public Records Act (PRA), chapter 42.56 RCW, applicable to nonjudicial agencies; (2) whether a trial court has authority to hear a motion to unseal previously sealed court records related to funding the defense of an indigent criminal defendant while the criminal conviction is on…