BJA: Project 2001

February 11, 2000

Project 2001 Committee Minutes

Members present: Paul W. Steere, co-chair; Judge Tom Swayze (retired), co-chair; Chief Justice Richard P. Guy; Judge Ronald E. Cox; Judge Sara Derr; Judge Michael Donohue; Judge Robert L. Harris; Judge James M. Murphy; Judge Michael Roewe; and Judge Jeff Tolman

Guest present: Judge Peter Lukevich

Staff present: Jude Cryderman; Chuck Foster; Doug Haake; Janet McLane; Yvonne Pettus and Mary McQueen

Welcome

Judge Swayze welcomed everyone. He introduced Mr. Paul W. Steere. Judge Swayze provided a brief introduction of why the committee was established.

Chief Justice Guy described his vision for the project committee. He reported on the meeting with legislators. He reported there was no indication by the legislators that funding would be available for any of the proposals put forth by the judiciary.

Judge Swayze said he had an unpleasant feeling during the meeting with the legislators. He said he perceived a distance between the two branches of government.

Introductions

Each member was asked to introduce themselves.

Preamble

Mr. Steere briefly reviewed the preamble, which sets out the mission of the committee. The committee approved the preamble as distributed.

He advised that the legislators are concerned about unserved warrants, along with alternative dispute resolution programs such as JAMS.

Review of Materials

Ms. McQueen reviewed the documents provided in the Committee notebooks.

Ms. McQueen advised the committee of the National Center for State Court's willingness to assist with this project through video or teleconferencing. The committee agreed that at some point receiving assistance from the NCSC would be of benefit.

Ms. McQueen reported a grant application has been submitted to the State Justice Institute to pay for costs associated with the Project. She continued, grant money could be used for: 1) GMA to conduct pubic opinion polls; 2) GMA conducting focus groups; or 3) holding a "town hall" meeting with the assistance of TVW. Ms. McQueen will keep the committee apprised of the progress of the SJI grant.

Finalize Committee Structure and Membership

The committee reviewed the proposed membership list. The committee agreed the membership should be kept to a manageable size. Additional organizations would be contacted for membership on the subcommittees. Further, it was the consensus that Chief Justice Guy, Mary McQueen, Judge Swayze and Paul Steere would contact people to be adjunct members.

Task Assignment/Work Plan

During discussion the following resources were requested

1. List of jurisdictions in Washington, assuming all jurisdictions opt into unification;
2. List of states that have unified;
3. Use of district court judges as superior court pro tems and limited use of retired judges; and
4. Summary of judges' retirement benefits package.

Subcommittees

After considerable discussion, five subcommittees were established:

1. Civil ADR/JAMS/Mediation;
2. Administration
   Presiding Judge Rule
   Unified Administration
   Staffing vs. available judicial time
3. Jurisdiction/Portability
   Specialized courts
4. Unified family courts/domestic relations/juvenile
   domestic violence
   antiharassment
5. Unserved warrants

   Each subcommittee will provide fiscal impact information.

Other Business

Problem areas include:
The role of the court of limited jurisdiction;
Judges can't actively mediate cases;
Courts of limited jurisdiction - exclusive civil jurisdiction.

The committee also requested a section by section bill analysis.

The next meeting was set for March 3 in the SeaTac area.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,

Jude Cryderman