Bench Bar Press Committee

2003 Report on Activities

There are two themes in describing the work of the Fire Brigade during calendar year 2003: the really big cases and the big-enough-to-be-newsworthy-but-not-really-big.

Fire Brigade calls came in from (or on behalf of) KING-TV, KOMO-TV, KIRO-TV, the Seattle Times, the Seattle P-I, the Olympian, the Longview Daily News and the King County Journal and maybe half a dozen judges. The courts involved were different levels of court in King, Pierce, Snohomish, and Cowlitz Counties.

The Really Big Cases

In the really big cases – those unnamed 20-year-old serial murder cases, police chief murder-suicides and newspaper dissolutions – the Fire Brigade sought to provide various services. It found occasion to gently remind judges of the importance of following the usual rules in unusual cases and to gently remind the media of the special pressures these cases exert on the courts and on the individuals involved in them. In addition, there was some opportunity for advance diplomacy and facilitation as all involved sought to avoid the sparks that could lead to fire.

The Other Cases

The more usual activities of the Fire Brigade are typified by this sampling of 2003 cases.

1. When a couple news reporters were not allowed to enter a courtroom in which a murder suspect’s preliminary appearance was taking place, this led to what Rowland Thompson likes to call a “kerfuffle ¹.” Fire Brigade investigation led to the conclusion that the judge probably had told staff that news photographers were not allowed and, in application, this directive somehow got expanded. In any case, a lesson was learned and repetition (in this particular court) is unlikely.

2. In a county that (to its credit) doesn’t see too many such cases, a defense attorney and prosecutor gave the judge an agreed order to seal the certification of probable cause in a murder case and the judge signed it. The request was ostensibly to avoid tainting the jury pool. The editor of the local paper contacted the Brigade, which contacted the judge, and the document was unsealed within 24 hours.

3. At a superior court arraignment, the judge ordered the media not only that they were not to photograph the defendant but also that they were not to publish photographs of him taken on an earlier occasion. Both print and broadcast media contacted the Brigade, which contacted the judge, and the prior restraint was immediately rescinded.

Proactive Measures

In February, two representatives of the Fire Brigade spoke about its function at the statewide orientation program for new judges.

During the year, Brigade members have been actively involved in drafting the proposed amendment to GR 16 that would provide trial judges with greater guidance in their exercise of discretion concerning cameras in court.

Respectfully submitted,
William L. Downing, Chair