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Board for Judicial Administration
Doubletree Hotel Spokane, WA September 29, 2002 Members present: Chief Justice Gerry Alexander, chair; Mr. Dale Carlisle; Judge Vicki Churchill; Judge Sara Derr; Judge Stephen Dwyer; Judge Deborah Fleck; Judge Ron Kessler; Judge Dirk Marler; Ms. Mary McQueen; Judge Robert McSeveney; Judge Kathleen O'Connor; Judge John Schultheis; and Judge Evan Sperline Members absent: Judge William Baker; Judge Stephen Holman; Justice Barbara Madsen; Mr. J. Richard Manning; Judge James Riehl; and Judge Karen Seinfeld Guests present: Judge Sam Cozza; Mr. Jeff Hall; and Mr. James Kirkham Johns Staff present: Mr. Gil Austin; Mr. Rick Coplen; Ms. Jude Cryderman; Mr. Doug Haake; Ms. Janet McLane; Mr. Rick Neidhardt; and Ms. Yvonne Pettus Call to Order Chief Justice Alexander call the meeting to order. Introductions Chief Justice Alexander introduced Judge Kathleen O'Connor, president-elect of the Superior Court Judges' Association. Ms. McQueen introduced Mr. Jeff Hall. Mr. Hall will be joining AOC as the Director of Planning and Policy in November. Minutes It was moved by Judge Schultheis and seconded by Judge Marler to approve the minutes of the June 16, 2002 meeting as published. Motion carried. Alternative Dispute Resolution Brochure Mr. Kirk Johns, member of the Dispute Resolution Section of the WSBA, provided a brief history Of ADR in Washington State. Mr. Johns presented the Section's proposal for the joint publication of an ADR brochure. Mr. Johns provided the cost information as follows: 8 ½ x 11 - 8 page self-cover Premium stock (60 lb., white Opaque)
Economy stock (60 lb., white Offset)
5 ¼ x 8 ¼ - booklet With coated cardstock cover - 12 pages
Self-cover - 16 pages
4-panel brochure on 8 ½ x 14 Premium stock
Economy stock
Discussion relating to the production of the ADR brochure continued. The Board agreed that BJA members should be involved in the final development of an ADR brochure.
It was moved by Judge Sperline and seconded by Judge Marler to approve the following requests of the DR Section: The motion carried. Chief Justice Alexander asked that any member interested in participating with the final development of the ADR brochure contact him. Time-for-Trial Task Force Judge Cozza provided a brief history of the creation of the Task Force. Judge Cozza reported that much work had been done by Task Force members Charles Williams and Seth Fine. Judge Cozza directed the Board's attention to the draft report's highlights:
Judge Cozza reported a full presentation of the report will take place Monday afternoon. The Board briefly discussed the recommendations of the Task Force. Judge Kessler stated the Task Force did a great job in a short period of time. AR 6 -Elected Pro Tem Judges Ms. McQueen reminded the Board that AR 6 is a result of the passage of ESJR 8208. Further, she reminded the Board of the creation of the work group for the drafting of the court rule. Mr. Hall explained the difficulties experienced by the courts in the scheduling of elected judges pro tem. He continued, the wording of the rule should allow for the assignment of an elected pro tem to a proceeding scheduled after the appointment of the pro tem regardless of when the case was filed. Ms. McQueen asked the BJA to support the review of the suggested rule amendment by the Portability Work Group. It was moved by Judge Kessler and seconded by Judge Marler to reconvene the Portability Work Group to review the suggested amendments to AR 6. The motion carried. Court Performance Audit Draft Rule Ms. McQueen provided a background for the proposed Court Performance Audits rule. The proposed rule would provide for audits to be performed by AOC. The Board briefly discussed the proposed rule, making several amendments. The proposed rule with amendments follows: Pursuant to the provision of RCW 2.56 and to ensure that minimum service levels for the administration of justice are in place, the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) is directed to conduct performance audits of courts under authority of the Supreme Court, in conformity with criteria and methods developed by the Board for Judicial Administration which have been approved by the Supreme Court. It was moved by Judge Churchill and seconded by Judge McSeveney to approve the proposed court performance audits rule as amended. The motion carried. Interlocal Agreements for Municipal Court Services Judge Marler advised the Board that the Association of Washington Cities is proposing housekeeping legislation that would allow a municipal court to provide court services for another municipality regardless of the physical location of the court. The Board briefly discussed this proposed amendment. It was moved by Judge Marler and seconded by Judge McSeveney that BJA oppose the proposed amendment to RCW 39.34.180(1). The motion carried. Discussion continued during which Ms. McQueen indicated AOC's legal services staff is researching a legal opinion. Judge Kessler indicated it was once again time to revisit consolidation, particularly as the budget crunch continues. Judge Derr indicated that issue was before the Long-range Planning Committee. DJR 14(e) - Confidentiality of Communications Between Judges and Their Peer Counselors Judge Marler briefly reviewed the proposed rule. It was moved by Judge Marler and seconded by Judge Fleck to approve proposed DJR 14(e). The motion carried. Court Funding Task Force Chief Justice Alexander provided a brief overview of the Task Force. He advised the Board that the first meeting is to be October 7, at Two Union Square in Seattle. A membership list was distributed. Judicial Retirement Work Group Ms. McQueen provided a brief update on the progress of the Work Group. She advised that Jerry Allard, former State Actuary, agreed to assist with the gathering of information and calculating possible options. Mr. Allard will meet with the Work Group in the next month. Family Law Ms. McQueen reported under the direction of the SCJA Family Law Committee, the WSBA Family Law Section Executive Committee is working on the development of the Family Law Handbook. The draft is expected to be complete in the spring. GR 26 - Mandatory Education Standards Judge Marler reviewed the draft standards. He indicated the 15 hour education requirements can be fulfilled through attendance at the spring or fall conferences. Judge Marler stated the Board for Court Education will forward the standards to the Supreme Court for approval. Court Independence Response Team Judge Marler reported the membership is still being completed. The first meeting will be held sometime in November. Trial Court Coordination Councils Written report. Employee Confidentiality Agreement Ms. McQueen advised the Board that the Confidentiality Agreement had been adopted by JIS and the Data Dissemination Committee. GR-24 - Definition of Practice of Law Ms. McLane reported the Supreme Court had adopted GR-24 several months ago, along with the amendment. The Order is ready to be forwarded to the Supreme Court for consideration. Judge Sperline requested the word "in" be changed to "by" in the first sentence of the "it is ordered" paragraph. The notice of information will be provided to the clerk's office and court employees and will be posted in each court. It was moved by Judge Schultheis and seconded by Judge Fleck to endorse the Order and Notice. The motion carried. Salary Commission Mr. Coplen reported the first public meeting of the Commission will be held in January. He continued, only two members of the previous Commission will remain members. Mr. Coplen advised the Board that Jan Eric Peterson will be the Bar's representative on the Commission. Best Practices Written report. Legislative Committee Ms. McLane reported the first meeting is scheduled for October 11. Court Reports Court of Appeals Judge Schultheis reported the COA will be reviewing their maintenance only budget request at their business meeting on Tuesday. Superior Courts Judge Fleck advised that along with Judge Marler and Senator Kline, she will speak at the WACO/WSAC first annual conference. Judge Fleck reported the legislative committee is hard at work. District and Municipal Courts Judge Marler reported the legislative committee is hard at work developing their legislative agenda for the 2003 session. Washington State Bar Association Mr. Carlisle reported the Washington Bar met with Oregon, Idaho and Utah to discuss the possible adoption of new model rules of ethics. Mr. Carlisle announced over 100 lawyers have been members of the Bar for 50 years. Those members were recognized at the annual Bar meeting earlier in September. Other Business Ms. McQueen informed the Board that Mr. Ramsey Radwan has been selected to replace Mr. Victor Moore at AOC. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted,
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