H-633 _______________________________________________
HOUSE BILL NO. 1146
_______________________________________________
State of Washington 51st Legislature 1989 Regular Session
By Representatives Padden and Moyer
Read first time 1/18/89 and referred to Committee on Judiciary.
AN ACT Relating to self defense; and amending RCW 9.01.200.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. Section 8, chapter 206, Laws of 1977 ex. sess. and RCW 9.01.200 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) No person in the state shall be placed in legal jeopardy of any kind whatsoever for protecting by any reasonable means necessary, himself or herself, his or her family, or his or her real or personal property, or for coming to the aid of another who is in imminent danger of or the victim of aggravated assault, armed robbery, holdup, rape, murder, or any other heinous crime.
(2) When a substantial question of self defense in such a case shall exist which needs legal investigation or court action for the full determination of the facts, and the defendant's actions are subsequently found justified under the intent of this section, the state of Washington shall indemnify or reimburse such defendant for all loss of time, legal fees, or other expenses involved in his or her defense.
(3) Whenever the issue of self defense under this section is submitted to a jury in a case in which the defendant claims to have acted in response to imminent danger of bodily harm to himself or herself, the court shall instruct the jury that if it finds the defendant not guilty, it shall return a special verdict in substantially the following form:
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!tryes!sc ,1or!sc ,1no
1. Was the finding of not guilty based upon
!sc ,4self defense?!tr!sc.,8
2. If your answer to question 1 is no, do not
!sc ,4answer the remaining question. If your answer to
!sc ,4question 1 is yes, was the defendant in imminent