THE SUPREME COURT OF WASHINGTON

IN THE MATTER OF THE ACCESS TO JUSTICE  ) O R D E R
TECHNOLOGY PRINCIPLES                   )
                                        ) NO. 25700-B-

WHEREAS, the Washington judicial system is founded upon the fundamental
principle that the judicial system is accessible to all persons; and

WHEREAS, responding to the unmet legal needs of low and moderate
income people and others who suffer disparate access barriers or are otherwise
vulnerable, and the need for leadership and effective coordination of civil equal
justice efforts in Washington State, the Supreme Court established an Access to
Justice Board as a permanent body charged with responsibility to assure high
quality access for vulnerable and low and moderate income persons and others
who suffer disparate access barriers to the civil justice system.  The Supreme
Court further ordered that, among other responsibilities, the Access to Justice
Board shall work to promote, develop and implement policy initiatives which
enhance the availability of resources for essential civil equal justice activities,
develop and implement new programs and innovative measures designed to
expand access to justice in Washington State, and promote the responsiveness
of the civil justice system to the needs of those who suffer disparate treatment or
disproportionate access barriers; and

WHEREAS, in working to fulfill those responsibilities, the Access to Justice
Board recognized that developments in information and communication
technologies, including the Internet, pose significant challenges to full and equal
access to the justice system, that technology can provide increased pathways for
quality access, but it can also perpetuate and exacerbate existing barriers and
create significant new barriers. The Board determined it must plan and act
proactively to take maximum advantage of the opportunity to destroy or
minimize

such barriers and to create more effective and efficient means of access to
the justice system and increase the quantity and quality of justice provided to all
persons in Washington State; and

WHEREAS, in 2001 the Access to Justice Board empowered and charged a
Board committee to engage in a broad-based and inclusive initiative to create a
body of authoritative fundamental principles and proposed action based thereon
to ensure that current and future technology both increases opportunities and
eliminates barriers to access to and effective utilization of the justice system,
thereby improving the quality of justice for all persons in Washington State; and


WHEREAS, over a three-year period the Board and committee fulfilled the
responsibility of broad and inclusive involvement and the development of
“The Access to Justice Technology Principles”, with accompanying
comments and proposed action based thereon; and The Access to Justice
Technology Principles have been endorsed by the Board for Judicial
Administration, the Judicial Information System Committee, the Board of
Trustees of the Superior Court Judges’ Association, the Board of
Trustees of the District and Municipal Court Judges’ Association,
the Board of Governors of the Washington State Bar Association, the Minority
and Justice Commission, the Gender and Justice Commission, the Attorney
General, and the Council on Public Legal Education; and

WHEREAS, a statewide Judicial Information System to serve the courts of
the State of Washington was created by the Supreme Court in 1976 to be
operated by the Administrative Office of the Courts pursuant to court rule, and
charged with addressing issues of dissemination of data, equipment,
communication with other systems, security, and operational priorities; and

WHEREAS, consistent with the intent of this Order, pursuant to RCW
2.68.050 the courts of this state, through the Judicial Information System, shall,
in pertinent part, promote and facilitate electronic access of judicial information
and services to the public at little or no cost and by use of technologies capable
of being used by persons without extensive technological ability and wherever
possible by persons with disabilities, and;

WHEREAS, the application of the Access to Justice Technology Principles to
guide the use of technology in the Washington State justice system is desirable
and appropriate; and

WHEREAS, the wide dissemination of the Access to Justice Technology
Principles will promote their use and consequent access to justice for all
persons;

Now, therefore, it is hereby

ORDERED:

(a) The Access to Justice Technology Principles appended to this Order state
the values, standards and intent to guide the use of technology in the
Washington State court system and by all other persons, agencies, and bodies
under the authority of this Court. These Principles should be considered with
other governing law and court rules in deciding the appropriate use of technology
in the administration of the courts and the cases that come before such courts,
and should be so considered in deciding the appropriate use of technology by all
other persons, agencies and bodies under the authority of this Court.

(b) The Access to Justice Technology Principles and this Order shall be
published expeditiously with the Washington Court Rules and on the Washington
State Bar Association website, and on the courts website as maintained by the
Administrative Office of the Courts.   The following introductory language should
immediately precede the Access to Justice Technology Principles in all such
publications and sites:

  “These Access to Justice Technology Principles were
developed by the Access to Justice Board to assure that technology enhances
rather than diminishes access to and the quality of justice for all persons in
Washington State.  Comments of the Access to Justice Board committee drafters
accompanying the Principles make

  clear the intent that the Principles are to be used so as to be practical and
effective for both the workers in and users of the justice system, that the
Principles do not create or constitute the basis for new causes of action or create
unfunded mandates.  These Principles have been endorsed by the Board for
Judicial Administration, the Judicial Information System Committee, the Board of
Trustees of the Superior Court Judges’ Association, the Board of
Trustees of the District and Municipal Court Judges’ Association, the
Board of Governors of the Washington State Bar Association, the Minority and
Justice Commission, the Gender and Justice Commission, the Attorney General,
and the Council on Public Legal Education.”

(c) The Administrative Office of the Courts in conjunction with
the Access to Justice Board and the Judicial Information System Committee shall
report annually to the Supreme Court on the use of the Access to Justice
Technology Principles in the Washington State court system and by all other
persons, agencies, and bodies under the authority of this Court.

DATED at Olympia, Washington this 3rd day of December 2004.