Cyberspace: A Stalker's New Playground presented at the District and Municipal Court Judges' Spring Conference, 2010. Cyberstalking is a relatively new phenomenon made possible by rapidly evolving technology. Chief Justice Barbara Madsen, Judge Alicia Nakata, Mr. Bernie Ryan, Ms. Teresa Atkinson and a cyberstalking victim showed how technology can be used to stalk people, identified signs of potential use of technology by a stalker, and examined how a person may become a victim of cyberstalking.
Being Flexible and Respecting Best Practices in Challenging Domestic Sentencing Cases a plenary session sponsored by the Commission and presented by Dr. Anne Ganley, Mr. Roy Carson, and Judge Judy Rae Jasprica at the 2009 Conference. The session provided a nexus between the most effective treatment practices when working with perpetrators of domestic violence and the options judges have upon sentencing.
Sexual Violence: Ethical Issues explored the myths and biases around sexual violence and victims of sexual assault at the 2009 Superior Court Judges' Association Spring Conference. The Commission surveyed all superior court judicial officers to elicit opinions regarding factors considered in rape cases and from the survey developed scenarios for the session. This session supported the Commission's work on the Sexual Assault Bench Guide.
The Domestic Violence (DV) Manual was updated and distributed in 2007. Six hundred copies of the manual were printed and distributed. Copies were sent to every superior, district, and municipal court judicial officer, law library, and domestic violence legal advocate on the list provided by the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the Office of Crime Victim Advocacy. In addition, the American Bar Association has distributed the Commission's manual to other countries.
Firearms and Domestic Violence: Court and Community Safety was presented by the Commission at the 2007 Annual Judicial Conference. The purpose of the session was to enhance judicial officers' understanding and awareness of federal and state statutes pertaining to batterer's firearm restrictions and protection order firearm prohibitions and to offer some solutions to assist courts in enforcing their orders relating to firearms.
A Domestic Violence and Ethics Workshop was offered to interpreters by the Commission in partnership with the Interpreter Commission in several locations around the state in 2007. The goal of the workshops is to provide interpreters with a basic understanding of the dynamics of DV and its impact on victims and their families.
Domestic Violence in the Workplace was presented by James Zissler of Littler Mendelson and funded by the Commission as a plenary session at the 2006 Leadership Program in Spokane. One hundred and thirteen court administrative leaders attended.
Interstate Custody and International Child Abduction: The Hague Convention and Domestic Violence was presented by the Commission as a three-hour education program at the 49th Washington Judicial Conference in Spokane on September 26, 2006. Justice Madsen, Judge Schindler, and Judge Dubuque joined six other expert faculty to provide the judicial audience an overview of the complicated state and federal laws addressing child custody and parental kidnapping, as well as the options available to judges for situations where a domestic violence victim has fled across state or national boundaries for reasons of safety.
Justice Madsen was honored at an Access to Justice Institute (ATJI) reception on April 20, 2006, for inspiring the development of ATJI's Hague Project judicial bench guide chapter on international child abduction and the impact of domestic violence. The chapter was created with the help of student volunteers and is now included in the Commission's Domestic Violence (DV) Manual.
In 2006, the Commission supported three community-sponsored Domestic Violence Summits:
Programs for Peaceful Living hosted Lieutenant Mark Wynn for a two-day training on the dynamics of domestic violence and sexual violence in White Salmon.
The Kitsap County Domestic Violence Task Force presented Deadly Silence - Anatomy of a Crime.
Turning Pointe Domestic Violence Services in Mason County sponsored the Domestic Violence in the Workplace summit.
