WSR 13-15-049
RULES OF COURT
STATE SUPREME COURT
[July 10, 2013]
IN THE MATTER OF THE ADOPTION OF THE AMENDMENTS TO RPC 4.4-RESPECT FOR RIGHTS OF THIRD PERSONS-NEW WA COMMENT 4
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ORDER
NO. 25700-A-1024
The Supreme Court Rules Committee having recommended the adoption of the proposed amendments to the Washington State Bar Association's RPC 4.4-Respect for Rights of Third Persons-New WA Comment 4; and the Court having considered the amendments and comments submitted thereto, and having determined that the proposed amendments will aid in the prompt and orderly administration of justice;
Now, therefore, it is hereby
ORDERED:
(a) That the amendments as shown below are adopted.
(b) That the amendments will be published in the Washington Reports and will become effective September 1, 2013.
DATED at Olympia, Washington this 10th day of July, 2013.
 
 
Madsen, C.J.
C. Johnson, J.
 
Stephens, J.
Owens, J.
 
Wiggins, J.
Fairhurst, J.
 
Gonzalez, J.
J. M. Johnson, J.
 
Gordon McCloud, J.
RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT (RPC)
RULE 4.4. RESPECT FOR RIGHTS OF THIRD PERSONS
(a) - (b) [Unchanged.]
Comment
[1] – [3] [Unchanged.]
Additional Washington Comment (4)
[4] The duty imposed by paragraph (a) of this Rule includes a lawyer's assertion or inquiry about a third person's immigration status when the lawyer's purpose is to intimidate, coerce, or obstruct that person from participating in a civil matter. Issues involving immigration status carry a significant danger of interfering with the proper functioning of the justice system. See Salas v. Hi-Tech Erectors, 168 Wn.2d 664, 230 P.3d 583 (2010). When a lawyer is representing a client in a civil matter, a lawyer's communication to a party or a witness that the lawyer will report that person to immigration authorities, or a lawyer's report of that person to immigration authorities, furthers no substantial purpose of the civil adjudicative system if the lawyer's purpose is to intimidate, coerce, or obstruct that person. A communication in violation of this Rule can also occur by an implied assertion that is the equivalent of an express assertion prohibited by paragraph (a). See also Rules 8.4(b) (prohibiting criminal acts that reflect adversely on a lawyer's honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a lawyer in other respects), 8.4(d) (prohibiting conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice), and 8.4(h) (prohibiting conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice toward judges, other parties and/or their counsel, witnesses and/or their counsel, jurors, or court personnel or officers, that a reasonable person would interpret as manifesting prejudice or bias on the basis of sex, race, age, creed, religion, color, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, or marital status).
Reviser's note: The brackets and enclosed material in the text of the above section occurred in the copy filed by the agency and appear in the Register pursuant to the requirements of RCW 34.08.040.