Minority and Justice Commission
Meeting Minutes

WASHINGTON STATE MINORITY AND JUSTICE COMMISSION

MINUTES OF COMMISSION MEETING

Gardner, Bond, Trabolsi, St. Louis & Clement

Denny Building, 2200 Sixth Avenue, Suite 600

Seattle, Washington

Friday, November 5, 2004 at 10:30 a.m.

Justice Charles W. Johnson and Justice Charles Z. Smith, Co-Chairpersons Presiding

Call to order

The meeting was called to order by Justice Charles Z. Smith at 10:30 a.m.

Present at the meeting were Justice Charles W. Johnson, Justice Charles Z. Smith (Retired), Judge Deborah D. Fleck, Ms. Lourdes Fuentes, Ms. Bonnie Glenn, Ms. Yemi Fleming Jackson, Ms. Regina J. Jones, Judge Richard A. Jones, Judge LeRoy McCullough, Ms. Janet L. McLane, Judge James M. Murphy (Retired), Tony Orange, Ms. P. Diane Schneider, Jeffrey C. Sullivan, Judge Greg D. Sypolt, Judge Mary Alice Theiler, Judge Philip J. Thompson, Judge Dennis D. Yule, Ms. Brenda E. Williams, and Ms. Erica S. Chung.

Persons not in attendance with excused absences were Jeffrey A. Beaver, Judge Monica J. Benton, Robert C. Boruchowitz, Dean George S. Bridges, Ph.D., Ms. Myrna I. Contreras, Judge Ronald E. Cox, Lonnie Davis, Dean Donna Claxton Deming, Larry M. Fehr, Judge Donald J. Horowitz (Retired), Charles A. Jardine, Judge Kenneth H. Kato, Ms. Kyle Taylor Lucas, Judge Douglas W. Luna, Ms. Amalia Maestas, Judge Ron A. Mamiya, Ms. Denise C. Marti, Judge Ricardo S. Martinez, Judge Richard F. McDermott, Jr., Ms. Rosa M. Melendez, Judge Maryann C. Moreno, Kenneth E. Payson, J.D. Smith, Judge Vicki J. Toyohara, Brian A. Tsuchida, and Judge Mary I. Yu.

Acknowledgement

Justice Charles Z. Smith thanked Ms. Kathleen Mary Thompson for hosting the Commission meeting at Gardner, Bond, Trabolsi, St. Louis & Clement.

Minutes

Justice Smith reported that the minutes of the July 30, 2004 Executive Committee and Commission meetings, held at Gonzaga University School of Law in Spokane, were approved during the Executive Committee meeting subject to necessary editorial revisions.

Report of Co-chairpersons

Community Forum July 30, 2004

Justice Smith reported that the July 30, 2004 Community Forum sponsored by the Commission at Gonzaga University School of Law was outstanding and that transcript of the forum is in the packet. He thanked Judge Sypolt and Judge Murphy for their efforts in organizing the forum.

Commission and Technical Support Membership

Justice Smith reported that the Supreme Court has approved the Commission’s recommendation to appoint Judge Mary I. Yu, King County Superior Court, to the Commission, filling a vacancy created by Judge William W. Baker. Judge Yu is assigned to the Research Sub-committee.

National Consortium Meeting

Justice Smith reported that the National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts has been scheduled for April 13-16, 2005 at the Omni Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia and that the Commission is sending the Co-Chairpersons and the executive director to the meeting. He stated that members are welcome to attend the national meeting, but the Commission will only cover the registration fee.

Next Commission Meeting

Justice Smith announced the Commission meetings scheduled for 2005:

February 25, 2005 in Seattle

June 24, 2005 in Tri-Cities

October 28, 2005 in Seattle

Report of the Sub-committees

Education Sub-committee

Judge LeRoy McCullough, Chairperson of the Education Sub-committee, stated that Ms. Regina Jones will report on the break out session.

Ms. Jones reported that the sub-committee spent most of its time discussing the Collateral Consequences of Criminal Convictions/Barriers to Reentry project. The sub-committee is determining what the issues are and how to go about informing and educating judges and the impact of federal regulations on state residents.

A discussion followed during her report between Commission members on how one goes about restoring individuals’ rights. Recommendations were made to gather a compendium of information on the process, put together resources for referrals (perhaps connecting with law school clinics), and make a referral to the Research Sub-committee to provide background on this project. It was decided that the sub-committee members will gather resource material on collateral consequences including proposals and information on restoration one’s rights and examine legislation on indigence as an impediment to restoring one’s rights and preparing hypotheticals for judges in considering the collateral consequences, preferably drawn from real life stories.

Evaluation and Implementation Sub-committee

Judge James M. Murphy, Chairperson of the Evaluation and Implementation Sub-committee, stated that the sub-committee will be working in conjunction with the Education Sub-committee on the Collateral Consequences of Criminal Convictions/Barriers to Reentry project.

Outreach Sub-committee

Brian Tsuchida, Co-chairperson of the Outreach Sub-committee, asked Ms. Erica Chung to give the sub-committee report.

Ms. Chung reported that the sub-committee will focus its next newsletter on the two 2004 community forums; the Fall 2005 issue will focus on collateral consequences; the Spring 2006 issue will cover Native American legal issues; the Fall 2006 issue will focus on women of color or judges of color. She stated the sub-committee discussed some outreach activities in conjunction with the June 24, 2005 Commission meeting in the Tri-Cities.

Workforce Diversity Sub-committee

Judge Deborah D. Fleck, Chairperson of the Workforce Diversity Sub-committee, asked Ms. Brenda Williams to give the sub-committee report.

Ms. Williams reported that the sub-committee has been working on the Diversifying the Bench project, producing a guide to assist attorneys of color in seeking judicial positions. She referred to an outline in the Commission packet that shows the preliminary layout of the manual. Ms. Williams stated it is the hope of the sub-committee that the majority of the work for this project will be done by law students and stated that she is actively recruiting students from the Latino Law Student Association at the University of Washington Law School.

Other Business

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned by Justice Charles Z. Smith at 1:00 p.m.