Gender and Justice Commission

1991-1994 Annual Report

Hon. Faith Enyeart Ireland,
King County Superior Court, Chair

Hon. George Colby,
Yakima County District Court, Vice-Chair

Gloria C. Hemmen,
Office of the Administrator
for the Courts, Project Coordinator

Chief Justice Fred Dore appointed Judge Faith Enyeart Ireland to chair the second Gender and Justice Implementation Committee. A summary of the projects and programs conducted by the Implementation Committee or its individual members are listed.

GENDER BIAS EDUCATION ATTITUDE AWARENESS

Assisted Washington Women Lawyers with seminars for attorneys in the public sector and private firms on Gender Bias in the Legal Profession: Breaking the Glass Ceiling. Two seminars were held in 1991, three were held in 1992 and in 1993.

Conducted the workshop, Outcome Determinative Gender Issues, for Washington State Administrative Law Judges, August 1992.

Conducted two seminars, "Overcoming Gender Bias in the Courts," at the National Association for Court Management Conference (NACM) in New Orleans, August 1992.

Repeated the NACM seminar at the Washington Association of State Court Administrators' Conference in Spokane, October 1992.

Developed a proposal for the establishment of the Supreme Court Gender and Justice Commission. The Commission was established by Supreme Court Order in February 1994.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE EDUCATION

Received a State Justice Institute (SJI) grant to implemented the national, model, judicial education program, Domestic Violence: the Crucial Role of the Judge in Criminal Court Cases. Facilitated faculty development, produced and distributed the Domestic Violence Manual for Judges, Vol. I - Criminal. Presented the six-hour program at the Annual Judicial Conference, August 1992 in Tacoma. Sixty-seven judges participated.

The domestic violence Manual was distributed at the Washington State Trial Lawyer's Association (WSTLA) seminar entitled Criminal Defense: The DV Assault. Sections of the manual were included in City of Seattle Office of Women's Rights manual for law enforcement training - Seeking Justice: Coordinated Justice System Intervention Against Domestic Violence. The Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys (WAPA) planned to use the manual at their spring 1993 education program.

Selected to be one of three states (Arkansas, California, and Washington) to serve on the National Advisory Committee to develop the model curriculum, Domestic Violence Cases in the Civil Court. Five team members worked with the San Francisco Family Violence Prevention Fund to review judicial education materials and a model bench book.

Adapted the model materials and manual for Washington State. Produced the draft Domestic Violence Manual for Judges, Vol. II -Civil. Trained faulty and implemented an eight hour pilot test program Domestic Violence Cases in the Civil Courts, October 1992 at Battelle Conference Center in Seattle. Twenty-nine judges participated in the program. Conducted follow-up surveys three months after both domestic violence programs asking judges what changes they were able to implement in their courts.

Revised the draft Domestic Violence Manual for Judges, Vol. II - Civil. Presented a six-hour workshop Domestic Violence Cases in the Civil Courts at the Superior Court Spring Conference, Semi-Ah-Moo, April 1994. Distributed the judge's manual to all conference participants and to all superior court judges and commissioners.

Coordinated the five-person team representing Washington State at the National Domestic Violence Conference - Courts and Communities: Confronting Violence in the Family, March 1993 in San Francisco. Distributed copies of the Washington State Domestic Violence Task Force Report to the fifty state teams attending the Conference. The team continued to meet for a year following the conference and focused on improving coordination between court levels on cases involving domestic violence.

Applied for a grant to implement recommendations of the Domestic Violence Team. Drafted a concept paper and subsequent grant application to the State Justice Institute to develop A Model Automated Family Identification System.

Distributed a summary of WAC 388-60, Domestic Violence Treatment Standards, to the judiciary in February 1994.

SPOUSAL MAINTENANCE & PROPERTY DIVISION STUDY

Conducted a three-hour plenary session on spousal maintenance at the Superior Court Judges' Spring Conference, April 1992. Distributed the materials to all Superior Court Judges and Commissioners.

Second National Gender Bias Conference

Delegated Judge Faye Kennedy and Gloria Hemmen to represent the Implementation Committee at the Second National Conference on Gender Bias in the Courts, Williamsburg, March 1993.

Established a regional (District 13, Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington) conference call network to share information relating to gender and justice. Calls began in July 1993 and have continued quarterly.