Definition

• As defined by laws set forth by the state of Washington, a Personal Restraint Petition is a motion filed by an incarcerated individual who has been convicted of a criminal act, asking the court to release him from incarceration either on his own recognizance or through the benefit of home incarceration with the aid of an electronic monitoring device. Under Washington State law, a Personal Restraint Petition may be filed in conjunction with an appellate issue in which the defendant has exhausted all other motions for relief.
  
  

Limitations

• In recognition of Washington State law and its definition of a Personal Restraint Petition as written, a Personal Restraint Petition does not reverse an original court's finding of guilt, nor does it allow for the reversal of conviction. Instead, a Personal Restraint Petition, if granted, permits an incarcerated individual to be freed from a traditional correctional facility and instead be confined to home incarceration based on a petition before the court to reconsider sentencing for the act for which the defendant has been convicted.
  
  

Qualifying Criteria

• In order for a court to hear a motion for personal restraint, the defendant must been specific criteria as mandated by Washington State law. In addition to having exhausted all other remedies for appeal based on the crime for which the defendant has been convicted, the defendant must file motion within 20 days from the date the final decision has been made by the appellate court in regard to his conviction. The petition must also detail all points of law for which he feels his sentencing violates the laws as written and mandated by the state.
  
  

Methods of Appeal

• A defendant who wishes to file a Personal Restraint Petition before the Washington State Court of Appeals may do so on his own behalf or through the assistance of counsel; if a defendant wishes to retain counsel for the purpose of appeal, he may do so at his own expense. In instances in which a defendant is deemed destitute in accordance with state law, an attorney will be appointed on his behalf for the purpose of appeal at no cost to the defendant.