Gender and Justice Commission

November 3, 2000

PRESENT

Commission Members: Justice Barbara A. Madsen, Judge Marlin Appelwick, Eileen Concannon, Helen Donigan, Thomas Fallquist, Jennefer Henson, Judge Kimi Kondo, Judge Ruth Reukauf, Judge Ann Schindler, Judge Linda Tompkins

Guests: Lindsay Thompson, LEGALS, and Katrina Davis, Powerful Voices: the Young Women’s Support Project

Staff: Gloria Hemmen, Administrative Office Of The Courts

ABSENT

Esther Ervin, Kathy Franklin, Representative John Lovick, Mary Pontarolo, Judge Wesley Saint Clair

CALL TO ORDER

Justice Madsen called the meeting to order at 9:10 a.m. and welcomed new Commission member Judge Linda Tompkins.

COMMISSION BUSINESS

Commission Membership

Justice Madsen announced the Supreme Court is receptive to amending the Court order to allow the Gender and Justice Commission to have up to 21 members. A revised order will be prepared for the next En Banc. Commission members were asked to send names of prospective candidates to Justice Madsen or Judge Saint Clair for review by the Nominating Committee.

Approval of Minutes

It was moved and seconded to approve the minutes of the September 8, 2000, meeting. Motion carried.

Budget Report

Justice Madsen and Gloria Hemmen met with the Supreme Court Budget Committee on September 18. The Court approved the Commission’s current operating level budget request. It is for the 2001-03 biennium. The November budget report, including the expenses for When Bias Compounds, will be sent when the SJI grant report is completed this month.

By-Laws Review

Judge Schindler and Judge Appelwick reviewed the By-Laws and requested clarification of two policy issues. Consensus was the By-Laws should be revised to include the following: membership should be limited to two terms and current members should be grandfathered in; a quorum should consist of 60% of the appointed members; Commission action will be by a simple majority; the chair may vote; if a quorum is not present, a vote may be taken subject to ratification by absent members; electronic participation will be allowed; Articles VIII and IX will be deleted.

Continuing member absences will be handled by the Chair as indicated in Article III. 3.3.

Revised copies of the By-Laws will be sent to the Commission for consideration at the
January 5, 2001 meeting.

LIAISONS WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS

LEGALS

Mr. Lindsay Thompson, President of the Washington Lesbian and Gay Law Society (LEGALS), provided an overview of the society’s membership and activities. LEGALS has 350 members and two main areas of focus: 1) judicial recommendations and 2) assisting members to provide better service to their clients in areas such as parenting issues, estate planning, and domestic violence as well as personal privacy concerns. In 1995, the Seattle-King County Bar published In Pursuit of Equality, the report of the Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Amending Rules of Professional Conduct 8.4 was one of the 60 recommendations to the bench and bar. The Supreme Court recently adopted the amendment which now makes committing a discriminatory act based on sexual orientation a matter of misconduct uniformly across the state. [The Supreme Court approved the amendment October 11, 2000.]

LEGALS expects to work on the other 59 recommendations in the report. Mr. Thomas noted issues which impact both LEGALS and the Gender and Justice Commission include domestic violence, parenting, and how people are treated in their interaction with the courts.

Mr. Thompson was requested to send the Commission a list of LEGAL’s prioritized recommendations, indicating which they think the Commission should consider. He was also asked to send names of members who might be interested in serving on the Commission.

Powerful Voices

Ms. Katrina Davis informed the Commission that Powerful Voices is a small, non-profit organization that focuses on girls in middle school and teens in detention. It has three components: After School Girls Leadership; Young Women’s Support Project (YWSP); and Making a Positive Step (MAPS). A brochure describing the programs was distributed. [Copy enclosed for members who were not at the meeting.]

Ms. Davis manages the YWSP program which conducts workshops for girls at the King County Juvenile Detention facility. The average stay for the girls is 3.5 days. The average age is 14-15 years. On Monday, two instructors and a volunteer conduct the Health and Wellness Group. On Wednesday, the Stay Out of Juvy workshop focuses on goal setting and accessing resources. Each girl is given Teen Links, a wallet sized resource card, and the Youth Yellow Pages. Copies will be sent to the Commission. A social worker and public health worker participate in the workshops. Visitors are welcome with a one-week notice.

She has not observed any gender disparity in the way juveniles in detention are treated but did comment on the crowded conditions. The girls do "vent" about the process and their attorneys, particularly about the lack of response and being seen in a timely manner. Judge Schindler commented King County is working on grant funding for improvement at juvenile detention.

Ms. Davis indicated the program needs money to grow, diversity on the Board and staff, and connections to other agencies. It was suggested they might access Violence Against Women money if they address domestic violence. It was agreed a set of the rural domestic violence posters will be laminated and sent to Ms. Davis.

Other suggestions were to fund a special domestic violence workshop and coordinate with the Superintendent of Public Education, the Council on Public Legal Education, or the Council on the Arts to sponsor an art competition.

Commission members were not aware of any programs of this type in juvenile detention.

Follow-up with other groups who have addressed the Commission

Since Washington Women Lawyers was scheduled to meet in October to determine their initiatives for 2001, it was proposed that they, as well as other groups who have reported to the Commission, be contacted for an update.

INFORMATION/ACTION ITEMS

When Bias Compounds – Celebration 2000 Program

The planning committee for When Bias Compounds: Insuring Equal Justice for Women of Color in the Courts held a debriefing meeting in October. Program participants, those who signed in during the small group break-out session, were sent a certificate signed by Justices Madsen and Smith; the small group action plans/ideas; and an educational resource list. Suggestions for Commission follow-up include:

• Preparing a discussion guide to go along with the short video used during the pilot program, for brown-bag lunchtime training use.
• Including a session at the Judicial College.
• Sponsoring a reception at the Supreme Court in March for women of color judges and attorneys. Justice Madsen and Judge Kondo will coordinate this program.

It was moved and seconded to support a reception for women of color at the Supreme Court in March 2001. Motion carried.

Concern was expressed that we are eliminating people from Eastern Washington by having a reception in Olympia. It was suggested a reception could be held at Gonzaga Law School.

Other comments from those Commission members who attended the When Bias Compounds: Insuring Equal Justice for Women of Color in the Courts in Spokane were:

• The panel set the tone and the small groups were able to start at a different point than expected. Everyone accepted that bias exists.
• The mixture of judges and attorneys was productive.
• I learned a lot. No one is immune.
• The absence of grumbling when people left the room was noted. Participants were interested in the topic and the majority proceeded to the small group sessions.
• From a court administrator’s point of view, the program was a success. The small group had a lot of questions. This is a program that should be presented to court managers.

Justice Madsen noted she received a letter from one of the small group facilitators who expressed appreciation that we took on this issue.

Discussion followed on a letter forwarded by Judge Wesley Saint Clair regarding the elimination of the Minority and Justice Commission’s diversity program from the Judicial College in 2001. King County Superior Court judges have written a letter protesting this action. It was noted the Access to Justice (ATJ) session was also eliminated. The composite of ATJ and diversity was successful. Two new topics were added to the curricula and each instructor was asked to integrate diversity and ATJ issues into the curriculum. Since the college is a one-week concentrated program, the solution may be extending its length.

Justice Madsen indicated she would bring this problem to the attention of the Board for Judicial Administration and address the issue during the time allotted to the Supreme Court Judges during a lunch at the Judicial College.

It was moved and seconded to purchase copies of the ABA publication The Burdens of Both, The Privileges of Neither and reproduce the pre-program introduction to When Bias Compounds for every judicial officer who attends the Judicial College. Motion carried.

A special mailing will go out two weeks before the college begins.

Parenting Act Report Follow-up—Board for Judicial Administration’s (BJA) Project 2001

The final report of Project 2001 is posted on the courts’ web page. Recommendations are listed on pages 4-8. http://www.courts.wa.gov/projects/proj2001. Action has already been taken regarding the recommendation to simplify the parenting plan forms. The Pattern Forms Committee is seeking names of potential writers who could make the forms "user-friendly."

Judge Appelwick said the Parenting Act Task Group will be meeting again to discuss the education programs recommended in Project 2001.

Local Domestic Violence Summits

4^th Annual Kitsap County Domestic Violence Summit, September 26, 2000

Eileen Concannon attended the Summit. She reported the keynote speakers, Casey Gwinn and Jackson Katz, were very impressive. Handouts from the speakers were included in the meeting materials.

The Commission paid $630 to have the keynote speakers videotaped. We have a three-hour tape.

It was moved and seconded to make ten copies of the videotape. Motion carried. Copies will be loaned to locations that have had Domestic Violence Summits for continuing education. One copy will be placed in the State Law Library. Other suggestions were to use the video in the high schools and for Law Day presentations. We could make the video available through Education Service Districts, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and Students Against Violence chapters. Gloria noted both speakers have been sent a release form regarding use of the videotape. We need to check how broadly we can distribute the tape. The Commission will view 90 minutes of the videotape at the end of the meetings in January and March.

1^st Annual South Puget Sound Domestic Violence Conference: Best Practices in Addressing DV: A Coordinated Response, October 6, 2000

Gloria attended part of the conference in Tumwater, Thurston County. It was set up as an educational program highlighting best practices. Dr. Anne Ganley conducted two workshops. A report has not yet been received from the program organizers.

Domestic Violence Summit 2000 Past, Present, Future, October 7, 2000

Justice Madsen and Mary Pontarolo spoke at the 2^nd Lewis County Domestic Violence Summit. This year’s program involved a broader audience including the sheriff, school districts, Washington State Patrol, and the Fellowship for Reconciliation, an interfaith peace and justice organization. A press clipping was included with the meeting materials.

San Juan County Domestic Violence Summit, October 24, 2000

The San Juan Summit was the only one that followed the Commission’s model agenda. It was very successful. Seventy-four people attended including representatives of the court and all three island school districts and the prosecuting attorney. Nancy Ashley facilitated the program and Mary Pontarolo was a keynote speaker. Gloria attended and operated the responder unit equipment. The summit organizers will attend the January meeting to report on the evaluations and action plans. Justice Madsen noted she was interviewed over the phone by the San Juan press.

Rural Domestic Violence Grant—Ethics Issue

Margaret Fisher, coordinator for the Rural and Tribal Court Domestic Violence grant project, received notice from one of the judges invited to host the next round of training workshops that she was interested but had some ethical issues. The Commission discussed the need to formulate a question for the Ethics Advisory Committee regarding judicial involvement with the Domestic Violence Summits and these grant funded workshops. Emphasis would be on the education and administration of justice. Justice Madsen and Judge Schindler will draft a letter to the Ethics Advisory Committee for consideration at their November 30 meeting and circulate it to the Commission for review.

NW Regional Meeting on Implementing Full Faith and Credit—February 21-23

Twenty-one people from eight states and five tribal nations attended the planning meeting for the Northwest Regional Meeting on Implementing Full Faith and Credit at Two Union Square on November 2, 2000. Judge Jim Riehl and Gloria Hemmen participated as points of contact for Washington State. The National Center for State Courts (NCSC), Department of Justice VAWA Office, National Criminal Justice Association, and the PA Coalition Against Domestic Violence are coordinating this project which is supported by the Conference of Chief Justices and State Court Administrators.

The NCSC grant will fund six-person state teams but we can have up to 15 persons attend. Tribal Nations will be invited and funded directly by the NCSC. The program will be held February 21-23 at the Renaissance Madison in Seattle. Teams will come from American Samoa, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming.

The program planners are looking for four-six people to facilitate the state team meetings during the program. Helen Donigan and Judge Tompkins indicated they are interested.

Domestic Violence Manual for Judges—Update Status

Judge Helen Halpert has agreed to update the criminal chapters of the Domestic Violence Manual for Judges, and we will be contracting with Dr. Anne Ganley to update her sections of the manual. One or more volunteers are needed to work on the civil chapters. Helen Donigan suggested Gail Hammer Family Law Project Director, Gonzaga University School of Law, might be interested in working on the project.

Model Anti-Harassment Policies—Development and Training

Judge Schindler is working with Kathy Franklin to develop a model anti-harassment policy that can be distributed to the courts. The draft will be sent to the Commission for review.

Women’s History Month—Lesson Plan

The Commission can work with Margaret Fisher to develop a "Judges in the Classroom" type lesson plan for Women’s History Month, March 2001. The cost would be for the number of hours she works on the project. Justice Madsen and Judge Schindler agreed to prepare three-four learning objectives. The lesson plan and speakers list could be posted on our website. It was suggested we digitalize the Women Judges’ videotape and make it accessible to schools. Northwest Women’s Law Center will be contacted to see if we can do this.

Glass Ceiling Survey Project

Eileen Concannon is working with Judith Ramseyer, King County Bar, on the glass ceiling survey project. The ABA Commission on Women has provided information on surveys completed in Colorado and Minnesota. They have obtained copies of the surveys and are looking at the design and cost. Eileen will report on their proposal in January.

Other Projects of Interest to the Membership

The list of projects discussed at the retreat in 1999 was reviewed. A revised copy is attached showing all of the projects/ideas proposed at the retreat and their status. It was suggested we explore the use of the Internet as an informal mechanism for collecting information on gender fairness/gender bias complaints.

NEW BUSINESS

Judge Appelwick commented the Courts’ Web-page is not user friendly. It is difficult to find the Commission or information on the Parenting Act Report. Drop-down lists would help people navigate. It was suggested he write a letter outlining his concerns.

At the Lewis County Domestic Violence Summit, Justice Madsen was asked to write a letter of support for anew organization regarding the United Nations proposed year to end aggression. She will circulate a draft for Commission review.

NEXT MEETING AND ADJOURNMENT

The next meeting is scheduled for January 5, 2001, 9:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Lunch will be provided for those members who wish to view the first half of the videotape of the Kitsap County Domestic Violence Summit’s keynote speakers. The meeting adjourned at 12:30 p.m.