Board for Judicial Administration
May 16, 2003
Two Union Square, Seattle

Members present: Chief Justice Gerry Alexander, co-chair; Mr. Dale Carlisle; Judge Leonard Costello; Judge Sara Derr; Judge Steve Dwyer; Judge Deborah Fleck; Judge Steve Holman; Justice Barbara Madsen; Judge Robert McSeveney; Ms. Mary McQueen; Judge Kathleen O’Connor; Judge James Riehl, co-chair; Judge John Schultheis; and Judge Evan Sperline

Guest present: Ms. Jan Michels

Staff present: Mr. Gil Austin; Ms. Jude Cryderman; Mr. Jeff Hall; and Ms. Janet McLane

Call to order

Judge Riehl, co-chair called the meeting to order. Judge Riehl welcomed Judge Costello, president-elect of the Superior Court Judges’ Association.

Minutes

It was moved by Judge Schultheis and seconded by Justice Madsen to approve the minutes of the April 18, 2003 meeting as published. The motion passed unanimously.

By-law amendments

Judge Riehl asked if anyone had questions or discussion regarding the amendments. There were no questions or discussion

Judge Schultheis called for the question. Amendments to the by-laws were adopted.

Legislative Update

Mr. Hall reviewed the legislative summary provided in the materials.

Mr. Hall reported that the Senate and House have reached an agreement on total dollar amount for the fy 03-05 budget. They will begin negotiations on expenditures using that dollar amount as a starting point.

Ms. McQueen reported that Senator Kline, Dick Manning, Wayne Blair, Chief Justice Alexander and she met with Senator Rossi to discuss AOC’s budget. Ms. McQueen also reported she had met with Representative Fromhold to discuss AOC’s budget. Ms. McQueen advised to obtain an accurate dollar figure for AOC’s budget the pass through money should not be included in that amount.

Public Trust & Confidence

Chief Justice Alexander advised that Justice Bridge resigned as chair of the Public Trust & Confidence Committee. Justice Bridge recommended the appointment of Justice Fairhurst to chair that committee. Chief Justice Alexander reminded the members that the by-laws require approval of BJA.

It was moved by Justice Madsen and seconded by Judge Schultheis to accept the resignation of Justice Bridge as chair of the Public Trust and Confidence Committee and appoint Justice Fairhurst as chair. The motion passed unanimously.

Scott Smith Letter

Chief Justice Alexander advised that BJA was selected to receive the 8^th annual Access to Justice award. The presentation the of the award will take place at the ATJ conference to be held in Wenatchee in June.

Legislative Relations

The members discussed possible ways to improve legislative relations in preparation for the 2004 legislative session.

One of the proposals was to hold a reception or some similar event during legislative weekends in the fall to provide an opportunity to meet some of the new legislators.

Justice Madsen suggested that attention must also be given to meeting with newly elected legislators.

The Board was reminded, in past years regional dinners were held throughout the state providing another opportunity to meet with legislators prior to the beginning of session.

Mr. Hall was directed to develop a proposal for presentation at the June BJA meeting.

Gender and Justice

Justice Madsen reported on BJA funds which were turned over to the Gender and Justice Commission to administer. Justice Madsen reported the counties and projects awarded grant moneys from January 2002 through March 2003 were:

Island County Superior Court—established a supervised visitation center and provides services to victims of domestic violence. Subcontracted with Catholic Community Services.

Whatcom County Superior Court—designed a comprehensive, specialized, domestic violence justice administration program for Whatcom County: The Whatcom County Judicial Guidelines for Domestic Violence. They also created a blueprint and implementation plan.

Seattle Municipal Court—produced and distributed a court information brochure for immigrant and refugee domestic violence victims. The brochure was translated into 11 languages and is available on line. Conducted a domestic violence “best practices” judicial workgroup.

Tacoma Municipal Court—conducted a one-day domestic violence training for 35 pro-tem judges, judicial officers and other court personnel. Provided each pro tem with a copy of the Domestic Violence Manual for Judges.

Clark County District Court—WSU conducted an evaluation of the existing domestic violence court. The court conducted multi-disciplinary trainings and coordinated with the YWCA to distribute “safety kits” to domestic violence victims.

Gender and Justice Commission/Administration—the grant administration and project management costs were less than anticipated. Scholarships were provided to send 10 judicial officers to the Enhancing Skills in Domestic Violence Cases workshop. Safety kits were purchased for victims in Douglas County. Materials were provided for judicial training in Pierce County.

New money was made available for the time period April 2003 to March 2004. Those moneys have been allocated to the following programs:

King County Superior Court—Conduct two-day advanced domestic violence training in King County for 50 judicial officers.

Supreme Court, Office of Public Defense and DCFS—will conduct Toward Commonality of Understanding Statewide Domestic Violence and Child Protective Services Symposia—May 30, 2003 and March 2004. This program will address domestic violence issues within families where there is also child abuse and neglect.

Douglas County District Court—provide a part-time court-based domestic violence advocate and provide safety kits to victims of domestic violence.

Yakima County Superior Court—Develop a coordinated and collaborative domestic violence justice system in Yakima.

Tacoma Municipal Court and Pierce County District Court—Will conduct coordinated domestic violence training for pro tem judges who serve in the Tacoma Municipal Court and the Pierce County District Court.

Lincoln County District Court—provide a part-time court domestic violence advocate and purchase security equipment for the court.

Gender and Justice Commission—Conduct judicial education on Sexual Assault and Stranger and Non-Stranger Rape and other related projects.

Judge Fleck personally thanked Justice Madsen for the presentation by Casey Gwinn at the Superior Court Judges’ Spring Conference.

Washington State Bar Association

Mr. Carlisle directed attention to the Bar’s newsletter letter that was included in the materials.

Ms. Michels reported the Bar had created a Panel on Criminal Defense. The Panel has been tasked with the examination of defense representation for criminals and juveniles. Results from the Panel are expected in 2004.

Mr. Carlisle reported two of the BOG positions were contested elections. Those ballots have not yet been counted. One position ran unopposed and will be filled by Katie O’Sullivan and the other non-contested position goes to Kristin Olson.

Salary Commission

Chief Justice Alexander reported, along with Judges Schultheis, O’Connor, Derr and Mary McQueen and Dave Savage, he had attended the April 24 Salary Commission Hearing in Spokane. He felt the judiciary had been well received by the Commission members.

Judge O’Connor indicated she had been impressed with the thoughtfulness of the Commission members. She said they asked good questions. She continued, it was obvious the members studied the matter and did their homework.

Judge Schultheis said he feels the Commission members are outstanding and dedicated.

Chief Justice Alexander advised the final hearing is scheduled for Monday, May 19. Ms. McQueen will attend the hearing in the SeaTac area.

Court Funding Task Force

Mr. Hall reported three big meetings have been scheduled involving the Task Force. The first is a meeting of the full Task Force on May 22. Next is a joint meeting with the Task Force work group co-chairs, BJA and Association Board members scheduled in conjunction with the June 20 BJA meeting. The Task Force work group co-chairs will attend a retreat beginning late afternoon June 20 and continue on June 21.

Problem Definition Work Group

Ms. Michels reported that her work group had expended about 30-35 hours of committee time. She said the focus of her work group is what should be included in trial court funding.

Funding Alternatives Work Group

Mr. Hall reported the group had met four times.. The work group has developed a draft set of principles. He continued, the work group held a brain storming session last week. The group will meet next week to review the body of suggestions.

Chief Justice Alexander advised that he had talked with Justice Johnson and Wayne Blair suggesting that they coordinate their task force’s effort to avoid competing for the same dollars during the 2004 legislative session.

Chief Justice Alexander said that he, along with Mary McQueen, had met with Judge Eadie and Judge Lukens of King County. Judge Eadie and Judge Lukens had indicated they were getting pressure from the King County Council and the county executive to look for alternative ways to increase revenues.

Public Legal Education Work Group is on hold.

Courts of Limited Jurisdiction

Ms. McLane reported the work group will hold its fourth meeting next week. The group is concentrating on perspectives of user group from around the state, i.e., domestic violence advocates, prosecutors, etc. The public defenders will be present at next week’s meeting.

Ms. McLane advised that a contract had been signed with JMI of Denver to craft a survey and follow-up interviews that will be distributed to the CLJs around the state. She continued the focus of the survey will be court practices and operations.

Ms. McLane also advised that the King County crisis is overwhelming for the work group. Mr. Blair, Judge Schindler and Mr. Ron Ward have contacted the cities offering their services to facilitate negotiations with the county.

The Implementation Strategies Work Group is having its first meeting this afternoon.

Reports from Courts

Court of Appeals

Judge Schultheis reported that Judge Susan Agid, Division I, was elected Presiding Chief Judge at their April Spring Conference.

Superior Court

Judge O’Connor indicated they had an excellent spring conference. She continued the association has lots of irons in fire—biggest is the court funding task force process which needs 100% membership buy-in.

Judge O’Connor also reported that Judge Costello had been elected president-elect at their spring conference. Judge Costello currently serves as chair of the association’s legislative committee.

District and Municipal Courts

Judge Dwyer indicated the association is going though introspection due to internal economics, as they are only receiving about 85% of association dues. He continued, it appears it will be necessary to execute some internal cut-backs. He indicated for the most part the organization is being funded by full-time district court judges.

Judge Dwyer advised their Spring Conference is first part of June.

Access to Justice

A written report was provided.

Other Business

Judge Riehl announced that Judge Holman will be getting married next Saturday on Bainbridge Island. Congratulations were extended to Judge Holman.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,
Jude Cryderman