Wash. Rev. Code » Title 70 · Chapter 70.48
Revised Code of Washington

Wash. Rev. Code § 70.48.400 (2026)

✓ current as of May 2026
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Persons sentenced to felony terms or a combination of terms of more than three hundred sixty-five days of incarceration shall be committed to state institutions under the authority of the department of corrections. Persons serving sentences of three hundred sixty-five consecutive days or less may be sentenced to a jail as defined in RCW 70.48.020. All persons convicted of felonies or misdemeanors and sentenced to jail shall be the financial responsibility of the city or county.
[ 1987 c 462 s 11; 1984 c 235 s 1.]

Notes:

Effective dates—1987 c 462: See note following RCW 13.04.116.
Effective dates—1984 c 235: "Section 5 of this act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety, the support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect immediately [March 27, 1984]. The remainder of this act shall take effect July 1, 1984." [ 1984 c 235 s 10.]
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 12 cases, 1987–2003 · leading case: State v. Bernhard, 741 P.2d 1 (Wash. 1987).
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State v. Bernhard, 741 P.2d 1 (Wash. 1987). · cites it 3× “A new section, RCW 70.48.400, contemplates trial court authority to sentence felons confined for 1 year or less to a specific type of county facility.”
State v. Shove, 776 P.2d 132 (Wash. 1989). · cites it 2× “*88 The Court of Appeals relied on the following statement from one of this court's recent cases: " [T]he power to sentence a defendant to a low-security special detention center pursuant to RCW 70.48.400, implies the power to alter the sentence if the facility does not suit the…”
Whatcom Cnty. v. City of Bellingham, 909 P.2d 1303 (Wash. 1996). “, in 1995, which would have amended RCW 70.48.400 to make the cost of prosecuting felons the responsibility of a county, and the cost of prosecuting misdemeanants the responsibility of the city or county that charged the person.”
State v. Linnemeyer, 776 P.2d 151 (Wash. Ct. App. 1989). · cites it 5× “The court relied on RCW 70.48.400 of the City and County Jails Act, which reads: Persons sentenced to felony terms or a combination of terms of more than three hundred sixty-five days of incarceration shall be committed to state institutions under the authority of the department…”
State v. Murray, 118 Wash. App. 518 (Wash. Ct. App. 2003). · cites it 3× “Two statutory sources, RCW 70.48.400 and former RCW 9.94A.150, establish the parameters of authority to modify a felon’s sentence.”
State v. Basford, 783 P.2d 129 (Wash. Ct. App. 1989). · cites it 3× “One inquiry is dispositive: whether the respondents were correctly charged under RCW 9A.”
State v. Murray, 77 P.3d 1188 (Wash. Ct. App. 2003). · cites it 3× “Two statutory sources, RCW 70.48.400 and former RCW 9.94A.150, establish the parameters of authority to modify a felon's sentence.”
State v. Smeltzer, 939 P.2d 1235 (Wash. Ct. App. 1997). “See also RCW 70.48.400 (felons sentenced to more than 365 days of detention are under the authority of the state department of corrections).”
State v. Besio, 907 P.2d 1220 (Wash. Ct. App. 1995). “] RCW 70.48.400. To reconcile that provision with RCW 9.”
State v. Dana, 800 P.2d 836 (Wash. Ct. App. 1990). “2d 1 (1987), the Supreme Court held that the sentencing judge, not a correctional official, has the authority under RCW 70.48.400 to select the county facility to which an offender sentenced to less than 1 year's confinement shall be committed.”
State v. Dorn, 969 P.2d 129 (Wash. Ct. App. 1999). “6 The court relied upon RCW 70.48.400, which provides that “[plersons sentenced to felony terms or a combination of terms of more than three hundred sixty-five days of incarceration shall be committed to state institutions under the authority of the [Department of [Corrections.”
State v. Shove, 754 P.2d 1017 (Wash. Ct. App. 1988). · cites it 2× “Moreover, the power to sentence a defendant to a low-security special detention center pursuant to RCW 70.48.400, implies the power to alter the sentence if the facility does not suit the defendant's needs.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.