Wash. Rev. Code » Title 9A · Chapter 9A.76
Revised Code of Washington

Wash. Rev. Code § 9A.76.170 (2026)

Bail jumping

✓ current as of May 2026
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(1) A person is guilty of bail jumping if he or she:
(a) Is released by court order or admitted to bail, has received written notice of the requirement of a subsequent personal appearance for trial before any court of this state, and fails to appear for trial as required; or
(b)(i) Is held for, charged with, or convicted of a violent offense or sex offense, as those terms are defined in RCW 9.94A.030, is released by court order or admitted to bail, has received written notice of the requirement of a subsequent personal appearance before any court of this state or of the requirement to report to a correctional facility for service of sentence, and fails to appear or fails to surrender for service of sentence as required; and
(ii)(A) Within thirty days of the issuance of a warrant for failure to appear or surrender, does not make a motion with the court to quash the warrant, and if a motion is made under this subsection, he or she does not appear before the court with respect to the motion; or
(B) Has had a prior warrant issued based on a prior incident of failure to appear or surrender for the present cause for which he or she is being held or charged or has been convicted.
(2) It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution under this section that uncontrollable circumstances prevented the person from appearing or surrendering, and that the person did not contribute to the creation of such circumstances by negligently disregarding the requirement to appear or surrender, and that the person appeared or surrendered as soon as such circumstances ceased to exist.
(3) Bail jumping is:
(a) A class A felony if the person was held for, charged with, or convicted of murder in the first degree;
(b) A class B felony if the person was held for, charged with, or convicted of a class A felony other than murder in the first degree;
(c) A class C felony if the person was held for, charged with, or convicted of a class B or class C felony; or
(d) A misdemeanor if the person was held for, charged with, or convicted of a gross misdemeanor or misdemeanor.
[ 2020 c 19 s 1; 2001 c 264 s 3; 1983 1st ex.s. c 4 s 3; 1975 1st ex.s. c 260 s 9A.76.170.]

Notes:

Effective date—2001 c 264: See note following RCW 9A.76.110.
Severability—1983 1st ex.s. c 4: See note following RCW 9A.48.070.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 144 cases (22 in the last 5 years), 1978–2025 · leading case: State v. Williams, 162 Wash. 2d 177 (Wash. 2007).
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State v. Williams, 162 Wash. 2d 177 (Wash. 2007). · cites it 15× “¶10 Bail jumping is defined in RCW 9A.76.170. 3 “[T]he elements of bail jumping are met if the defendant: (1) *184 was held for, charged with, or convicted of a particular crime; (2) was released by court order or admitted to bail with the requirement of a subsequent personal…”
State v. Williams, 170 P.3d 30 (Wash. 2007). · cites it 14× “¶ 10 Bail jumping is defined in RCW 9A.76.170. [3] "[T]he elements of bail jumping are met if the defendant: (1) was held for, charged with, or convicted of a particular crime; (2) was released by court order or admitted to bail with the requirement of a subsequent personal…”
State Of Washington v. Terysa Ann Brake, 476 P.3d 1094 (Wash. Ct. App. 2020). · cites it 10× “In the unpublished portion of this opinion we address Brake’s argument that the trial court erred by not finding that Brake knowingly failed to appear and by becoming a witness during Brake’s bench trial in violation of ER 605 and due process.”
State v. Carver, 93 P.3d 947 (Wash. Ct. App. 2004). · cites it 10× “The State further argued that under the current version of RCW 9A.76.170, the State must prove only that Carver was given notice of his court date — not that he had knowledge of this date every day thereafter, and that "I forgot" is not a defense to the crime of bail jumping.”
State v. Carver, 122 Wash. App. 300 (Wash. Ct. App. 2004). · cites it 9× “The State further argued that under the current version of RCW 9A.76.170, the State must prove only that Carver was given notice of his court date — not that he had knowledge of this date every day thereafter, and that “I forgot” is not a defense to the crime of bail jumping.”
State v. Coucil, 170 Wash. 2d 704 (Wash. 2010). · cites it 11× “The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that the bail jumping statute, RCW 9A.76.170, unambiguously provides that “bail jumping is classified for sentencing purposes according to the nature of the underlying charge at the time the defendant jumps bail, not on the basis of the…”
State v. Green, 6 P.3d 53 (Wash. Ct. App. 2000). · cites it 9× “RCW 9A.76.170. In a post-conviction challenge, Green argues that neither the information charging him nor the "to convict" jury instruction contained all of the elements of bail jumping because the underlying crime was never specified.”
State v. Green, 101 Wash. App. 885 (Wash. Ct. App. 2000). · cites it 9× “RCW 9A.76.170. In a post-conviction challenge, Green argues that neither the information charging him nor the “to convict” jury instruction contained all of the elements of bail jumping because the underlying crime was never specified.”
State v. O'Brien, 267 P.3d 422 (Wash. Ct. App. 2011). · cites it 6× “In 2001, the legislature amended the statute to add the failure to surrender and the affirmative defense language. It also removed the former statute’s knowledge element to require only that the defendant knew a court order required him to appear or surrender.”
State v. Slater, 486 P.3d 873 (Wash. 2021). · cites it 2× “” RCW 9A.76.170(1)(b)(ii)(A). This change provides more persuasive evidence that an FTA is frequently not indicative of consciousness of guilt.”
State v. Pope, 100 Wash. App. 624 (Wash. Ct. App. 2000). · cites it 4× “RCW 9A.76.170. Thus, the elements of bailing jumping are met if the defendant: (1) was held for, charged with, or convicted of a particular crime; (2) was released by court order or admitted to bail with the requirement of a subsequent personal appearance; and, (3) knowingly…”
State v. Pope, 999 P.2d 51 (Wash. Ct. App. 2000). · cites it 4× “RCW 9A.76.170. Thus, the elements of bailing jumping are met if the defendant: (1) was held *53 for, charged with, or convicted of a particular crime; (2) was released by court order or admitted to bail with the requirement of a subsequent personal appearance; and, (3) knowingly…”
Show all 144 citing cases →
— Wash. Rev. Code § 9A.76.170(1) — 87 cases
State v. Williams, 162 Wash. 2d 177 (Wash. 2007). “¶10 Bail jumping is defined in RCW 9A.76.170. 3 “[T]he elements of bail jumping are met if the defendant: (1) *184 was held for, charged with, or convicted of a particular crime; (2) was released by court order or admitted to bail with the requirement of a subsequent personal…”
State v. Williams, 170 P.3d 30 (Wash. 2007). “¶ 10 Bail jumping is defined in RCW 9A.76.170. [3] "[T]he elements of bail jumping are met if the defendant: (1) was held for, charged with, or convicted of a particular crime; (2) was released by court order or admitted to bail with the requirement of a subsequent personal…”
State v. Carver, 122 Wash. App. 300 (Wash. Ct. App. 2004). “The State further argued that under the current version of RCW 9A.76.170, the State must prove only that Carver was given notice of his court date — not that he had knowledge of this date every day thereafter, and that “I forgot” is not a defense to the crime of bail jumping.”
State v. Carver, 93 P.3d 947 (Wash. Ct. App. 2004). “The State further argued that under the current version of RCW 9A.76.170, the State must prove only that Carver was given notice of his court date — not that he had knowledge of this date every day thereafter, and that "I forgot" is not a defense to the crime of bail jumping.”
State v. Lundy, 308 P.3d 755 (Wash. Ct. App. 2013).
— Wash. Rev. Code § 9A.76.170(1)(3) — 1 case
State v. Gonzalez-Lopez, 132 P.3d 1128 (Wash. Ct. App. 2006).
— Wash. Rev. Code § 9A.76.170(1)(a) — 3 cases
State Of Washington v. Leonid Petrovich Kuzkin (Wash. Ct. App. 2021).
State Of Washington, V. Billy James Lindberg (Wash. Ct. App. 2021).
State Of Washington, V. Jesse Gamez (Wash. Ct. App. 2024).
— Wash. Rev. Code § 9A.76.170(1)(b)(i) — 1 case
State Of Washington v. James W. Clark (Wash. Ct. App. 2021).
— Wash. Rev. Code § 9A.76.170(1)(b)(ii)(A) — 2 cases
State v. Slater, 486 P.3d 873 (Wash. 2021). “” RCW 9A.76.170(1)(b)(ii)(A). This change provides more persuasive evidence that an FTA is frequently not indicative of consciousness of guilt.”
State v. Bergstrom, 502 P.3d 837 (Wash. 2022).
— Wash. Rev. Code § 9A.76.170(2) — 28 cases
State v. Slater, 486 P.3d 873 (Wash. 2021). “” RCW 9A.76.170(1)(b)(ii)(A). This change provides more persuasive evidence that an FTA is frequently not indicative of consciousness of guilt.”
State v. O'Brien, 267 P.3d 422 (Wash. Ct. App. 2011). “In 2001, the legislature amended the statute to add the failure to surrender and the affirmative defense language. It also removed the former statute’s knowledge element to require only that the defendant knew a court order required him to appear or surrender.”
State v. Fredrick, 123 Wash. App. 347 (Wash. Ct. App. 2004).
State v. Green, 6 P.3d 53 (Wash. Ct. App. 2000). “RCW 9A.76.170. In a post-conviction challenge, Green argues that neither the information charging him nor the "to convict" jury instruction contained all of the elements of bail jumping because the underlying crime was never specified.”
State v. Mannering, 75 P.3d 961 (Wash. 2003).
— Wash. Rev. Code § 9A.76.170(2)(c) — 2 cases
State v. Pope, 100 Wash. App. 624 (Wash. Ct. App. 2000). “RCW 9A.76.170. Thus, the elements of bailing jumping are met if the defendant: (1) was held for, charged with, or convicted of a particular crime; (2) was released by court order or admitted to bail with the requirement of a subsequent personal appearance; and, (3) knowingly…”
State v. Pope, 999 P.2d 51 (Wash. Ct. App. 2000). “RCW 9A.76.170. Thus, the elements of bailing jumping are met if the defendant: (1) was held *53 for, charged with, or convicted of a particular crime; (2) was released by court order or admitted to bail with the requirement of a subsequent personal appearance; and, (3) knowingly…”
— Wash. Rev. Code § 9A.76.170(3) — 9 cases
State v. Williams, 162 Wash. 2d 177 (Wash. 2007). “¶10 Bail jumping is defined in RCW 9A.76.170. 3 “[T]he elements of bail jumping are met if the defendant: (1) *184 was held for, charged with, or convicted of a particular crime; (2) was released by court order or admitted to bail with the requirement of a subsequent personal…”
State v. Williams, 170 P.3d 30 (Wash. 2007). “¶ 10 Bail jumping is defined in RCW 9A.76.170. [3] "[T]he elements of bail jumping are met if the defendant: (1) was held for, charged with, or convicted of a particular crime; (2) was released by court order or admitted to bail with the requirement of a subsequent personal…”
State v. Coucil, 170 Wash. 2d 704 (Wash. 2010). “The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that the bail jumping statute, RCW 9A.76.170, unambiguously provides that “bail jumping is classified for sentencing purposes according to the nature of the underlying charge at the time the defendant jumps bail, not on the basis of the…”
State v. Gonzalez-Lopez, 132 P.3d 1128 (Wash. Ct. App. 2006).
State v. Coucil, 245 P.3d 222 (Wash. 2010).
— Wash. Rev. Code § 9A.76.170(3)(c) — 15 cases
State v. Williams, 162 Wash. 2d 177 (Wash. 2007). “¶10 Bail jumping is defined in RCW 9A.76.170. 3 “[T]he elements of bail jumping are met if the defendant: (1) *184 was held for, charged with, or convicted of a particular crime; (2) was released by court order or admitted to bail with the requirement of a subsequent personal…”
State v. Williams, 170 P.3d 30 (Wash. 2007). “¶ 10 Bail jumping is defined in RCW 9A.76.170. [3] "[T]he elements of bail jumping are met if the defendant: (1) was held for, charged with, or convicted of a particular crime; (2) was released by court order or admitted to bail with the requirement of a subsequent personal…”
State v. Spiers, 79 P.3d 30 (Wash. Ct. App. 2003).
State v. Spiers, 79 P.3d 30 (Wash. Ct. App. 2003).
State v. Coucil, 170 Wash. 2d 704 (Wash. 2010). “The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that the bail jumping statute, RCW 9A.76.170, unambiguously provides that “bail jumping is classified for sentencing purposes according to the nature of the underlying charge at the time the defendant jumps bail, not on the basis of the…”
— Wash. Rev. Code § 9A.76.170(c) — 1 case
State Of Washington v. Robbie Lee Fitch (Wash. Ct. App. 2020).
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