Legal definition of a "day" in Washington state?

Question

I am the respondent of a petition for an Order for Protection against Unlawful Harassment (form PTORAH).

It's my belief (but I can't seem to find the exact statement in the RCW) that I have to have to be served no less than 5 days before the hearing?

Question 1: Is it 5 court days, or 5 calendar days? In other words, are Saturday and Sunday included in the 5 days?

Question 2 (if it's calendar days): I was served on 8/16/07 at 2:30 PM. My hearing is on 8/21/07 at 8:30 AM. Is that 5 days, or just 4, since it's not a full five 24-hour periods?

Question 3: Do I still show up at the hearing and just ask the judge for a new court date since I haven't had the 5 full days to prepare, or do I just contact the court first, so I don't even have to show up?

This is for Superior Court of WA for King County

Thanks in advance! If you need clarification on anything, please ask!

Answer 1

Five days means five working days excluding Saturday, Sunday and holidays.

Answer 2

1. I don't know about Washington for sure, but for most government business, "day" means calendar day unless "business day" is specified. But you would need to find the actual law and read what it says. Most laws start out with a list of definitions, so it should be relatively easy to determine which it is.

2. If you were served on the 16th, then the 17th is day 1, etc. So the 21st would be day 5, and it would be valid.

3. You can contact the court clerk and ask for a petition to reschedule. He/she will tell you whether or not you need to show up.

Answer 3

What did you do?