Supreme Court Releases New Appellate Court Self-Help Guides

Supreme Court Releases New Appellate Court Self-Help Guides

The Washington Supreme Court has released two new self-help guides meant to help users understand the process for seeking review of a Court of Appeals decision by the Washington State Supreme Court.

The guides go over the processes for petitions for review and motions for discretionary review.

"The goal of these guides is to de-mystify the appellate process, for self-represented litigants as well as lawyers who may not be familiar with the steps for seeking review in the Supreme Court," said Chief Justice Debra Stephens.

A petition for review is a formal request asking the Washington State Supreme Court to review an opinion by a panel of judges of the Court of Appeals. It's how a party asks the state's highest court to review and possibly change that decision. A motion for discretionary review is typically used to seek review of a Court of Appeals decision that is not final opinion (with some exceptions per RAP 13.5A).

The guides walk users through a series of questions that determine if a petition for review or motion for discretionary review is right for their case, and what steps to take to file them.

The guides are housed on Self-Help Washington's new Appellate Help page.

The Administrative Office of the Courts' Equity and Access program launched Self-Help Washington (SHW) in 2025 to provide accessible resources to help people without lawyers navigate Washington Courts.

Two more guides focusing on trial court decisions are in progress. A guide concerning notices of appeal will be releasing on SHW in the coming weeks. Another is in development, focused on notices for discretionary review.

These guides are not legal advice, but instead a breakdown of the processes that can be found in the Rules of Appellate Procedure.

"Our Clerks Office, under the leadership of Clerk Sarah Pendleton, gets full credit for developing the idea of self-help resources, and the court embraced this as one more way we can support greater access to justice," Stephens said. "As courts, we work for the people, and we will continue to work on expanding appropriate resources that make court processes more understandable and transparent."

CONTACT: Patric Haerle, Communications Officer, [email protected], 360-712-1892.