Members Absent: Judge Christine Cary; Mr. Richard Eymann; Judge Stephen Holman; Judge Robert McSeveney; Judge James M. Riehl; and Justice Charles Z. Smith

Guests Present: Judge Daniel J. Berschauer; Judge Robert L. Harris; Ms. M. Janice Michels; Mr. Victor Moore; and Judge T. W. Small

Staff Present: Mr. Gil Austin; Mr. Rick Coplen; Ms. Jude Cryderman; Mr. Doug Haake; Ms. Janet McLane; Ms. Marna Murray; and Mr. Rick Neidhardt

Call to Order

Chief Justice Guy called the meeting to order. He then turned the meeting over to Judge Murphy.

Summary of last BJA Meetings

Minutes

Judge Roof asked his attendance at the last meeting be reflected in the minutes.

It was moved by Judge Roewe and seconded by Judge Baker to approve the minutes of the May 19 meeting, with the addition of Judge Roof's presence. The motion passed unanimously.

June 2 and 3rd meeting

Mr. Coplen directed attention to the summary of the long-range planning meeting. Judge Kessler requested that the BHAGs be prioritized and redistributed to the Board.

Old Business

None

Reports and Information

Access to Justice

Judge Chip Small, chair of the Access to Justice Board, briefly reviewed the proposed civil equal justice resolution. Judge Small advised that the Washington State Bar Association Board of Governors had approved a resolution at their June meeting "Reaffirming a Civil Equal Justice Crisis and Calling upon the Judicial Branch to Assume a Leadership Role in its Resolution." The Board briefly discussed the proposed resolution. Chief Justice Guy advised the Board of the Executive Committee's support, indicating several questions arose regarding the wording of the resolution. The proposed resolution will be forwarded to the legislative committee to rework portions of the wording.

Judge Small also advised the Board that he is the liaison from the ATJ to the BJA.

Introduction

Ms. McQueen introduced Victor Moore, OAC's new Director of Management Services. Mr. Moore will begin with OAC on August 1.

Jury Commission

Judge Berschauer, chair of the Jury Commission, presented the Commission's draft report to the Board. Judge Berschauer pointed out several recommendations:

• Recommendation 8 shortens the term to a maximum of one week and service to 2 days/1 trial.
• Recommendation 12 would increase the jury service fee to $45 beginning with day 2, with the state paying $35.
• Recommendation 11 would provide for a pilot project allowing non-English speaking citizens to serve on a jury with the assistance of a certified interpreter.

Other recommendations with possible statute changes are:

• Recommendation 18 would specify which juror records are private and which are public. Would also specify retention periods of the information.
• Recommendation 19 provides as much information as possible about jury service to the potential juror.
• Recommendation 20 would try to protect jurors from unreasonable and unnecessary intrusions into their privacy during jury selection.

Recommendations requiring court rule changes:

• Recommendation 29 would allow jurors to take notes during trial.
• Recommendation 30 would allow juror notebooks prepared by the parties, with court supervision.

The association presidents agreed to put the draft report before their boards at the next meeting.

Judge Berschauer indicated the next step for BJA is to create an Implementation Committee. The Committee would not go directly to the legislature, but may make suggested court rules changes through the associations. The Committee should be made up of 5-10 members responsible for the development of an action plan to be brought to BJA. Judge Berschauer offered to chair the Implementation Committee.

It was moved by Judge Roewe and seconded by Judge Hogan to go forward with the co-chairs appointing the Implementation Committee to be chaired by Judge Berschauer. Judge Roewe amended the motion for formation of the Implementation Committee to be chaired by Judge Berschauer. Judge Hogan seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

Judge Murhpy thanked Judge Berschauer and his Commission for all of their hard work. Judge Berschauer responded the true laborers were at OAC-Julia Appel, Rich Neidhardt and Bob Henderson.

Best Practices Committee

Judge Hogan reported the Core Mission/Best Practices Committee would recommend ways for courts to improve the administration of justice for Washington's citizens. In addition, the Committee will determine which mandatory function must be provided by the courts.

Judge Hogan stated the Court Management Council has requested the following representation on the Committee:

2 representatives	county clerks
2 representatives	appellate court clerks
2 representatives	superior court administrators
2 representatives	district/municipal court administrators

Legislative Committee

Judge Baker pointed out that the membership is set out in page 13 of the Journal of the BJA, June 2 and 3, 2000. The Supreme Court member and the WSBA member are yet to be appointed. He advised the Committee had not yet met, but would do so prior to the Board's September meeting.

Judge Baker stated the purpose of the Committee is to evaluate proposed legislation and make recommendations to the full BJA.

Long-range Planning

Judge Murphy asked that each Committee develop a mission statement. Further, he requested, if possible the Committees meet prior to the next BJA meeting and provide mission statements to staff for dissemination.

Project 2001

Ms. McLane reminded the Board that retired Judge Tom Swayze and Paul Steere, past WSBA president are the co-chairs of Project 2001. Project 2001 created five subcommittees to study the issues. The five subcommittees are: Case Management chaired by Judge Michael Donohue; Jurisdiction/Portability chaired by Mr. Wayne Blair; Trial Court Administration chaired by Judge James Cayce; Warrant Resolution chaired by Judge Vance Peterson; and Domestic Relations chaired by Judge Faye Kennedy. The five subcommittees have maintained a rigorous meeting schedule over the summer in an effort to complete their work. In addition, several of the subcommittees have broken down further into task forces to complete their assignments. Reports from the subcommittees are expected mid-to late September.

Jurisdiction/Portability

Mr. Blair advised an overview of California's 15 year transition to a consolidated court system was presented by Ms. Yolanda Williams, Court Administrator for Seattle Municipal Court. The one of the goals of consolidation was to realize judicial branch efficiencies.

He continued, his committee had broken down into several subcommittees: Jurisdiction and Pro Tem; Merger; and Portability and Specialization.

Study areas that are being reviewed by the committee include: Clear definition and strong role of the presiding judge; method for flexible assignment of judicial officers depending on workload needs; and coordination of staff resources.

The Board discussed possible areas for obtaining court efficiencies, such as combining certain administrative roles in the courts; combined use of jury pools; and consolidation of departments. Mr. Wayne Blair reported his committee would meet as a whole on August 25.

Public Trust and Confidence

Mr. Blair reported the committee, chaired by Justice Bobbe Bridge, had met 4-5 times. He advised at the July 7 meeting, several legislators provided the committee with their personal views, along with input received from constituents. The legislators also provided reports on what's needed to improve the public's trust and confidence in the judicial system. The committee will meet again in September.

State Investment Board

Mr. Coplen reported beginning September 1, 2000, the State Investment Board will be replacing the Fidelity Bond Fund option with SIB managed bond fund. The State Investment Board asked whether the Judges Retirement Account Plan would be interested in participating in this option. After a brief discussion, the Board agreed this option should be available to the JRA participants.

Voters Pamphlet

Ms. McQueen reported OAC is partnering with the Secretary of State's Office to create this year's voters pamphlet. It will be distributed to every household prior to the primary.

Uniform Family Court Pilot Program

Ms. McLane provided a brief overview of the written report. She advised that King, Snohomish, and Thurston Counties are participating in the pilot program. A total of $225,000 has been allocated to the three program sites. Data collection began July 1, 2000, and will conclude when the pilot sites complete the required data collection.

New Business

HOV Lane Penalty Request from DMCJA

Judge Roewe expressed the belief that if the court are to speak with one voice, the BJA should review the WSP's request.

It was moved by Chief Justice Guy to reject the request by the Washington State Patrol to increase the penalty for the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane violation. The motion was seconded by Judge Hogan.

Discussion followed whether it was appropriate for the Board to comment on the increased penalty when the request was actually made to OAC, not the Board. It was pointed out the request was made to the BJA by the District and Municipal Court Judges' Association. The Association does not support the requested change.

The vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously.

Other Business

Judicial Award

Ms. McQueen discussed a possible award to judges who "work well and demonstrate courage" while performing their judicial duties. The Board discussed whether the award should be limited to members of the judiciary. The Board agreed that the co-chairs should establish a subcommittee to draft guidelines for the award.

Dues

Judge Murphy reported the BJA dues would remain at $55 per judge.

It was moved by Judge Baker and seconded by Judge Roof to maintain the BJA dues at $55.00 per judge. Motion passed unanimously.

Meetings

Judge Murphy questioned whether it is desirable for the Board to hold monthly meetings.

It was moved by Judge Kurtz and seconded by Judge Roewe to establish monthly meetings of the Board. The motion passed unanimously.

Vision Statement/Mission Statement

The Board briefly discussed the vision statement created during the morning session.

BJA VISION - The BJA to become the leader and voice of the courts.

BJA MISSION Purpose (results) - To enhance the judiciary's ability to serve as an equal, independent and responsible branch of government.

It was moved by Judge Roewe and seconded by Judge Hogan to adopt the vision statement presented at the morning session, as well as the mission statement. The motion passed unanimously.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,

Jude Cryderman