LJuCR 3.9. Review Hearing

    (a) Scheduling. The petitioner must schedule initial reviews, dependency reviews, and permanency planning hearings in accordance with current procedures outlined in the court’s Dependency and Title 13 RCW Guardianship Manual (see LJuCR 1.1). Any party may schedule a hearing to ensure that the hearing is held within the time periods specified by law. This rule shall not be construed to limit a party’s ability to seek modification of a court order as allowed by law.
    (b) Reports and Contested Issues.
        (1) Reports. The person or agency supervising the dependency will file and serve a written report and proposed order to all parties not less than 14 days prior to the scheduled hearing. Responsive reports of parties not in agreement with the supervising agency’s proposed court order must be filed and served at least seven days prior to the hearing. Documents in strict reply, if any, shall be filed and served no later than noon two judicial days prior to the hearing. All documents filed shall contain the name of the judicial officer expected to hear the matter or the courtroom assigned, and the date and time of the hearing, in the upper right-hand corner of the document.
        (2) Contested Issues. Any party requesting clarification, modification, or enforcement of the dispositional order, a prior review order, or a prior permanency planning order, or requesting additional relief from the court, shall do so by motion, utilize the procedures in LJuCR 1.8, and attach to their motion a copy of the order sought to be modified. Failure to do so may prevent that party from being heard on the contested issue at the hearing. If during a hearing, a contested issue arises that could not have been reasonably anticipated by the affected party or their counsel, the court may consider the contested issue or set a new hearing date to consider the issue.
        (3) Working Copies. Working copies of all filed documents shall be submitted when filed as outlined at LJuCR 1.8(b)(4).
    (c) Hearings. All review and permanency planning hearings will be on the record.
    (d) Agreed Continuances. By agreement, a review or permanency planning hearing may be continued for reasons approved by the court, provided that the hearing is not continued past the date by which a review or permanency planning order for the child must be entered. A new date must be scheduled as provided in section (a). If a hearing is continued past the date at which a review or permanency planning order must be entered, the court may enter an order maintaining the status quo pending the hearing. If the supervising agency fails to submit a timely report, and any party makes a request to the supervising agency at least seven days prior to the hearing to continue the hearing due to the agency’s untimely report, the supervising agency is responsible for (1) obtaining a new date and (2) securing an agreed order by all parties to continue the hearing.

[Effective January 2, 1994; amended effective July 1, 1994; September 1, 1996; September 1, 2004; September 1, 2005; September 1, 2009; September 2, 2013; September 1, 2021; September 1, 2023.]