Wash. Rev. Code » Title 36 · Chapter 36.24

Wash. Rev. Code § 36.24.020

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Any coroner, in his or her discretion, may hold an inquest if the coroner suspects that the death of a person was unnatural, or violent, or resulted from unlawful means, or from suspicious circumstances, or was of such a nature as to indicate the possibility of death by the hand of the deceased or through the instrumentality of some other person: PROVIDED, That, except under suspicious circumstances, no inquest shall be held following a traffic death.
The coroner in the county where an inquest is to be convened pursuant to this chapter shall notify the superior court to provide persons to serve as a jury of inquest to hear all the evidence concerning the death and to inquire into and render a true verdict on the cause of death. Jurors shall be selected and summoned in the same manner and shall have the same qualifications as specified in chapter 2.36 RCW.
At the coroner's request, the superior court shall schedule a courtroom in which the inquest may be convened, a bailiff, reporter, and any security deemed reasonably necessary by the coroner. The coroner and the superior court shall set an inquest date by mutual agreement. The inquest shall take place within eighteen months of the coroner's request to the court. If the superior court cannot accommodate the inquest for good cause shown, the court may designate a comparable public venue for the inquest in the county.
If the superior court is unable to provide a courtroom or comparable public venue, it shall certify courtroom unavailability in writing within sixty days of the coroner's request and the inquest shall be scheduled and transferred to another county within one hundred miles of the requesting county.
The prosecuting attorney having jurisdiction shall be notified in advance of any such inquest to be held, and at his or her discretion may be present at and assist the coroner in the conduct of the same. The coroner may adjourn the inquest from time to time as he or she may deem necessary.
The costs of inquests, including any costs incurred by the superior court, shall be borne by the county in which the inquest is requested. When an inquest is transferred to another county due to unavailability of a courtroom, the county from which such inquest is transferred shall pay the county in which the inquest is held all costs accrued for per diem and mileage for jurors and witnesses and all other costs properly charged to the transferring county.
[ 2016 c 13 s 1; 2009 c 549 s 4032; 1988 c 188 s 18; 1963 c 4 s 36.24.020. Prior: 1953 c 188 s 3; Code 1881 s 2777; 1863 p 560 s 3; 1854 p 436 s 3; RRS s 4181.]

Notes:

Legislative findings—Severability—Effective date—1988 c 188: See notes following RCW 2.36.010.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 11 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1965–2021 · leading case: Carrick v. Locke
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Carrick v. Locke (1994) wash · cites it 10× “RCW 36.24.020 deals with inquests in particular, and provides, in part, that: *134 The coroner in the county where an inquest is to be convened pursuant to this chapter shall notify the superior court to provide persons to serve as a jury of inquest to hear all the evidence…”
BNSF Ry. Co. v. Clark (2019) wash · cites it 9× “The memorandum read as follows: Pursuant to RCW 36.24.020, please be advised that I am opening an inquest concerning the February 5, 2017 death of [R.”
Thompson v. Wilson (2008) washctapp · cites it 2× “RCW 36.24.020 ("[T]he superior court provide[s] persons to serve as a jury of inquest to hear all the evidence concerning the death and to inquire into and render a true verdict on the cause of death.”
Thompson v. Wilson (2008) washctapp · cites it 2× “RCW 36.24.020 (“[T]he superior court... provide[s] persons to serve as a jury of inquest to hear all the evidence concerning the death and to inquire into and render a true *819 verdict on the cause of death.”
Lee v. Jasman (2014) washctapp “RCW 36.24.020 provides, in part: Any coroner, in his or her discretion, may hold an inquest if the coroner suspects that the death of a person was unnatural, or violent, or resulted from unlawful means, or from suspicious circumstances, or was of such a nature as to indicate the…”
Miranda v. Sims (2000) washctapp · cites it 2× “2d 173 (citing RCW 36.24.020 and RCW 36.24.040). To this end, the coroner must examine all individuals who have, in the coroner or jury's opinion, "any knowledge of the facts.”
Family of Butts v. Constantine (2021) wash · cites it 8× “The inquest jury must (1) inquire into the circumstances surrounding the death, RCW 36.”
State Ex Rel. Lopez-Pacheco v. Jones (1965) wash “into the death of Lopez-Vera, after the body had been sent to Puerto Rico and interred, and after he had, in the performance of his duties immediately after the shooting, determined the cause of death and that it was not accomplished by unlawful means? The statute relating to…”
Stone v. State (1975) wash “1 RCW 36.24.020 provides in part: “Any coroner, in his discretion, may hold an inquest if he suspects that the death of a person was unnatural, or .”
Ronald Reynolds v. Lewis County (2017) ca9 “Wash. Rev. Code § 36.24.020 (2011). Therefore, the arrest that followed, which was mandated by statute, was supported by probable cause and did not violate Reynolds’s Fourth Amendment rights.”
D. Angus Lee v. Jerry Jasman (2014) washctapp “RCW 36.24.020 provides, in part: Any coroner, in his or her discretion, may hold an inquest if the coroner suspects that the death of a person was unnatural, or violent, or resulted from unlawful means, or from suspicious circumstances, or was of such a nature as to indicate the…”
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