The Clock On Your Case
RCW 9.98.010 — a prisoner's written notice, then 120 days to trial
This clock runs only for a person already serving a prison term in the state who has charges pending elsewhere in it. It is the one the statute gives that person, and it starts with a written request.
120 days. A person serving a term of imprisonment in a state institution, with an untried indictment, information or complaint pending in the state, is brought to trial within 120 days after delivering to the prosecuting attorney and the court written notice of the place of imprisonment and a request for final disposition.
- Proceedings on an unrelated charge in a different county.
- Competency proceedings on the pending charge, from the evaluation order to the finding of competence.
- Time detained in a federal jail or prison under conditions Washington did not impose.
Those periods are excluded from the count.
The constitutional right to a speedy trial runs alongside the statute and is decided on different terms; court rules, and the interstate agreement on detainers for charges in another state, are not on this page. Counting the days in a particular case, and what tolls them, is a question for a licensed Washington attorney.
Sources for this section (1)
- RCW 9.98.010 — Disposition of untried indictment, information, complaint; procedure
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Washington attorney.