WPIC 118.15 Oath—Definition

Use bracketed material as applicable. If the last bracketed sentence is used, the jury must also be instructed on the statute, regulatory provision, or state or federal law involved. For a discussion of related issues, see the Comment.

Do not use the last bracketed phrase in the second paragraph if the writing involved is an acknowledgement, a deposition, an oath of office, or an oath requiring a special official other than a notary. See RCW 9A.72.010(2)(c), RCW 9A.72.085 (repealed effective July 1, 2021), and RCW Chapter 5.50. In 2019, the Legislature repealed RCW 9A.72.085, which deals with standards for subscribing to an unsworn statement, effective July 1, 2021. At the same time, the Legislature amended RCW Chapter 5.50, including RCW 5.50.010, to include provisions similar to RCW 9A.72.085. Laws of 2019, Chapter 232, §§ 1–2 and 7 (effective July 28, 2019). Therefore, this instruction has not been revised for this edition.

RCW 9A.72.010(2), (3).

Supplementing the instruction. The instruction should be supplemented with additional language if the instruction's final paragraph is used. For example, if a statute specifically authorizes a hearing examiner's use of an oath in a particular type of case, the jury could be instructed: “A hearing examiner is authorized by law to administer an oath in a (fill in type of case from statute).” In order to avoid usurping the jury's role in applying the facts to the law, the instruction should be drafted in general terms only; the jury should not be instructed that the oath in that particular case was authorized by law.

Jurat. If the instruction is drafted using the word “jurat,” then jurors will need to be instructed on the word's meaning. The jurat on a written document usually takes the form of a notary public's certification that the written document was signed and sworn (or attested) to in the notary's presence. See, e.g., Black's Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019) (“A jurat typically says ‘Subscribed and sworn to before me this day of [month], [year],’ and the officer (usu[ally] a notary public) thereby certifies three things: (1) that the person signing the document did so in the officer's presence, (2) that the signer appeared before the officer on the date indicated, and (3) that the officer administered an oath or affirmation to the signer, who swore to or affirmed the contents of the document.”).

Signed. A document may be signed electronically. RCW 5.50.010(3)(d). However, the provisions of RCW 5.50.010(3)(d) create an ambiguity as to the definition of an electronic signature by stating: “Any person may now utilize a digital or electronic signature, as those terms are defined in RCW 19.34.020.” The Legislature repealed RCW 19.34.020, effective July 28, 2019. Laws of 2019, Chapter 132, § 8. RCW 19.360.030(2), enacted in 2016, defines an electronic signature, but that statute is not referenced in RCW 5.50.010. Licensed attorneys and law enforcement officers may “sign” a document that is submitted to the courts or other specified persons by placing specific identifying information on the document. See RCW 19.360.020 and GR 30.

Non-defense. RCW 9A.72.070 provides that it is no defense (1) that the oath was administered or taken in an irregular manner or (2) that the person administering the oath lacked authority to do so if the taking of the oath was required or authorized by law. Also see State v. Lewis, 85 Wn.2d 769, 539 P.2d 677 (1975), and the cases cited therein.