Opinion ID: 1752011
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: The Meaning of Strike

Text: In response to the Dioceses' motion to remove the stricken material from the record, the trial court concluded that CR 12.06 provided no express authority to do so. Looking for implied authority, the trial court endeavored to determine the meaning of stricken, and defined the word in terms of a process: In the Court's experience, the most common approach is to leave the document containing the stricken portions in the record, but to give them no legal effect. The Court of Appeals held that, in this context, the trial court correctly construed the meaning of the word strike or stricken. We disagree. The word strike means to expunge, as from a record. Blacks Law Dictionary, 1436 (7th ed.1999). Expunge means to erase or destroy. Id. at 603. Thus, under the plain meaning of the word, the power to strike material from the record is the power to remove the material from the record. The scant interpretation of the equivalent federal rule, FRCP 12(f), that we have been able to find is in accord with our interpretation of CR 12.06 and the word strike. See Wright & Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure: Civil 2d, § 1380 (Under motion to strike pursuant to FRCP 12(f) scandalous allegations and matters of this type often will be stricken from the pleadings in order to purge the court's files and protect the subject of the allegations.) (emphasis added); see also United States v. Amodeo, 71 F.3d 1044, 1048 (2nd Cir.1995) (stating in dicta that a federal district court may control access to its records by striking a pleading as scurrilous). Therefore, we hold that the power to strike material from a court's record embraces the power to physically remove the stricken material from that court's record.