Gender and Justice Commission

September 3, 1999

ATTENDEES
Commission Members
Justice Barbara Madsen, Chair; Judge Marlin Appelwick; Judge C. Kimi Kondo;Eileen Concannon; Helen Donigan; Thomas R. Fallquist; Le Sanchez

Guests
Dr. Diane Lye, Parenting Plan Research Consultant; Justice Faith Ireland, Washington State Supreme Court; Judge Bobbie Bridge, SCJA and Domestic Relations Commission; Carol Farr, Domestic Relations Commission; Pam Daniels and Scott Santoro, Snohomish Co. DV Summit; Debbie Miller and Mary Myhre-Pancake, Lewis County DV Summit; Mike Curtis, Administrative Office Of The Courts; Lawrence Hutt, Citizen

Staff
Gloria Hemmen, Administrative Office Of The Courts

CALL TO ORDER
Justice Madsen called the meeting to order at 9:40 a.m. and welcomed guests and visitors.

COMMISSION BUSINESS
Approval of Minutes
It was moved and seconded to approve the minutes of the June 11, 1999, meeting. Motion carried.

Budget Report
The Commission reviewed a written report for Fiscal Years (FY) 2000 and 2001. Of the $227,656 biennial allocation, $92,555 is encumbered for salaries and $13,200 has been encumbered for the three local domestic violence summits scheduled in October and November.

Requests for Funding
 

• The Commission received a request for $5,000 to help fund production of a video to encourage other states to enact hate crimes legislation. Mike Hogan, former Commission member, was interviewed for the video and recommended the producer contact the Commission regarding possible grant funds. Concerns were raised that the greatest part of the program budget focused on purchase of equipment and possible ethics concerns since the Washington Association of Churches was the coordinating agency. Action on the request was deferred until the next Commission meeting.
• Washington Women Lawyers' president requested Commission support for a video on professionalism and civility. No action was taken since no details about the project were provided.

Meeting and Conference Call Schedule
The Commission will meet from 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon on the following dates. Meeting times may be extended to 1:30 p.m. for some meetings:

1.   Friday, November 5, 1999
2.   Friday, January 7, 2000
3.   Friday, March 3, 2000
4.   Friday, May 5, 2000

In addition to these meetings, some conference calls will be scheduled. More than half of the members indicated they could participate in a conference call on Friday at 12:15 p.m. The first conference call is scheduled for October 15, 1999.

Nominating Committee
The Superior Court Judges' Association (SCJA) sent out a notice that the Commission had an opening for one judicial officer, preferably from Eastern or Central Washington. No responses were received. The Nominating Committee proposed another mailing and active recruitment. Justice Madsen contacted Judge Dennis Yule, Benton/Franklin Counties Superior Court.

Judge Yule currently serves on the SCJA Equality and Fairness Committee and could be a liaison to that group. Judge Yule requested time to consider the offer.

STATUS OF CURRENT PROGRAMS/PROJECTS
Local Domestic Violence Summits

1. Grant/Adams Counties: October 2, 1999.
   The planning committee is working with the summit workshop materials adapted from the Kitsap County Summit. Nancy Ashley will facilitate the program. Gloria Hemmen will operate the option finder equipment.
2. Lewis County: October 9, 1999.
   Debbie Miller and Mary Myhre-Pancake, Summit Co-Chairs, reported on the status of the local summit. The Elks have donated space and other donations have been received. Local judges will be involved and there has been support from the business community, the local bar, and social service agencies. Confirmed speakers include Justice Madsen; Mary Fairhurst, representing Christine Gregoire; and Mary Pontarolo. The program will include a victim impact panel and a Chehalis police officer report on profiling the domestic violence re-offender. They anticipate coming in under budget but requested remaining funds be available for summit follow-up. Planning for the summit started one year ago. They will request CLE credits to encourage attorney participation.
3. Snohomish County: November 6, 1999.
   Pam Daniels, Snohomish County Clerk, and Scott Santoro, Everett City Attorney DV Unit, reported the local planning group is meeting with 17 identified groups at least once before the summit. The Navy has donated meeting space and Providence Hospital is covering printing and postage costs. Nancy Ashley will facilitate this program. The program will include a presentation by a paramedic fire fighter who sees domestic violence as a community issue, not just an issue for police and prosecutors.

Video to Accompany
How to Conduct a Local Domestic Violence Summit
The Commission viewed the eight-minute video explaining the purpose of a local DV summit. Judge Riehl reported there was a tremendous response to the video at the ABA conference in Atlanta last month. Every participant received a copy of the manual on how to conduct a local summit. Since that program, he has received an inquiry for more information from the Washington State Bar, the YWCA, and the Mary Kay Cosmetics Corporation.

Judge Riehl also reported Kitsap County was holding its 3^rd Annual Domestic Violence Summit on October 2.

He thanked the Commission for their support and noted Washington State is receiving national recognition for being proactive. He noted he has not yet been affidavited in a domestic violence case and emphasized there is a difference in talking about domestic violence as education and not as an advocate.

Southwest Washington Regional Access to Justice Conference
Mary Myhre Pancake reported the goal of the Regional Access to Justice Conference is scheduled for September 17-18 at Ocean Shores. Justice Madsen will be speaking at the conference.

Rural Domestic Violence Posters
The Commission has 50 sets of posters for distribution during October, domestic violence month. An article will be placed in the Judicial Clippings, which is sent to all the courts. Posters will also be available for judges at the annual judicial conference in October.

Rural/Tribal Courts Grant
Letters were sent to the trial court associations requesting time during their spring conferences for an education session on domestic violence in the rural and tribal courts. The Superior Court Judges' Association has agreed to have a half-day session Tuesday, April 25, 2000.

Education Committee

1. Annual Judicial Conference
   Kathy Cooper Franklin will be facilitating a three-hour workshop on harassment at the Fall Judicial Conference as part of the Public Trust and Confidence tract, Tuesday, October 5, 1999. Kathy will include a review of current law and the "nuts and bolts" of how judges can avoid problems in court. Justice Smith said we can add a line to the program materials indicating the Minority and Justice Commission supports this program.
2. When Bias Compounds: Women of Color in the Courts
   The Education Committee continues to work on the pilot program of When Bias Compounds: Women of Color in the Courts, which is scheduled for Saturday, January 22, 2000. The Committee is continuing to revise the model curriculum and is looking for faculty/facilitators. All Gender and Justice Commission members are requested to attend to the pilot program.

   Helen Donigan, as chair of the Access to Justice Education Committee, thanked the Commission for providing them with the curriculum manual.

International Women's Conference - Norway
Eileen Concannon presented a detailed overview of Women's World '99, the International Conference in Norway. Twelve hundred women attended. Sessions included women in economics, human rights, gendering men, sexualized and domestic violence. She noted Korea's law against domestic violence is only one year old and in Greenland wife beating is a fact of life. One session discussed what men can do to help end men's violence again women. She commented that the conference broadened her understanding of domestic violence.

Parenting Act Study Final Report
Distribution of the Parenting Act Study began in late August. Reports have been sent to the Supreme Court, Gender and Justice Commission, the Domestic Relations Commission, Access to Justice Education Committee, the SCJA Juvenile and Family Law Committee, the Senate and House of Representatives Judiciary Committees, and interested parties.

It was proposed we send copies to the Executive Committee of the Family Law Section of the Bar, the ABA, the state library, courthouse facilitators, superior court judges and commissioners, superior court administrators, law schools, and CAS/GAL programs. It was suggested we publicize its availability in bar newsletters.

Judge Appelwick commented when the Parenting Act passed the Legislature, we did an inadequate job of educating judges and lawyers. Dr. Lye responded the legislation was very progressive but the institutions were resistant. The challenge is to encourage everyone to use the creativity allowed by the Act.

It was also proposed that education sessions be presented for judges, family law attorneys, the matrimonial bar, and a video be made so it would be available as a check-out CLE. As a major CLE push, we need to go beyond the report. Justice Madsen will contact Judge Kennedy to see how much the Domestic Relations Commission wants to get involved with implementing the report's recommendations and conducting education programs.

Dr. Diane Lye indicated some issues identified in the report are urgent. For example, those that deal with domestic violence victims and safety issues. She noted parents need more information on mediation and courts need to make sure parents don't stall the process by avoiding mandatory parenting classes. Another big issue is the lack of an enforcement mechanism to help parents.

Helen Donigan reported a committee is looking at simplifying the forms.

Web Page Development
The Commission viewed the revised web page and requested some modifications. Additional work on the web page will be referred to OAC.

Law School Presentations
It was agreed letters should be sent to the Deans of the law schools to set up time for the Commission to present research materials to the law schools. Along with the materials from the ABA, we should include the domestic violence video, the manual on how to conduct a local domestic violence summit, the rural domestic violence posters, and a copy of the model curriculum When Bias Compounds: Women of Color in the Courts. Judge Appelwick agreed to contact the University of Washington; Judge Kondo will contact Seattle University; and Helen Donigan will contact Gonzaga. Justice Madsen indicated another option would be to invite a law caucus to the Supreme Court and make the presentation there. A recent reception and meeting at the Temple of Justice with the board of Washington Women Lawyers was very successful.

PROJECTS AND RECOMMENDATION PRIORITIES
Review of Retreat Priorities
Justice Madsen reviewed Commission members' priority project list. The four issues most often listed as a priority are:

• Develop an active liaison system
  (with court and law related organizations and law schools)
• Implement the Curriculum When Bias Compounds: Insuring Equal Justice for Women of Color in the Courts. (Pilot Program tentatively scheduled for January 22, 2000.)
• Continue Local Domestic Violence Summit Support
• Follow-up on Dr. Diane Lye's Parenting Plan Research

The next priority item was:

• Combining these two: Capitalize on Women's History Month/Work with TVW to air the Washington Women Judges' Videotape and establish a Washington Women's Hall of Fame.

Since there was not a quorum at this point in the meeting, further discussion was deferred until the November meeting.

OTHER BUSINESS
Judicial Leadership Awards
A new Supreme Court policy allows the Commission to expend state funds to recognize the service of volunteers on state boards and commissions. It was agreed that on this, the 10^th anniversary of the publication of the Gender and Justice Task Force in the Courts report, we should honor the four judges who have chaired gender and justice efforts. Awards will be presented to:

1. Judge H. Joseph Coleman, Division I, Court of Appeals, Gender and Justice Task Force Chair; 1987-1989
2. Judge Rosanne Buckner, Pierce County Superior Court, Implementation Committee Chair, 1989-1991
3. Justice Faith Ireland, Implementation Committee Chair, 1991-1994
4. Chief Justice Richard Guy, Gender and Justice Commission Chair, 1994-1998

Other Items of Interest
 

• The Supreme Court passed ER 1101 that suppresses rules of evidence in domestic violence and anti-harassment cases. It also adds a section to the rule providing lawyers and parties have a right to the information a judge sees on the computer screen.
• The Board of Washington Women Lawyers (WWL) was invited to hold their meeting at the Temple of Justice in August. Before the Board meeting, five members of the Supreme Court discussed their projects. Justice Madsen described the work of the Commission and showed the video on how to conduct a local summit. Commission materials were displayed for the group. WWL is very interested in working with the Commission on two projects: (1) a Bar survey on women in law firms and (2) a video on civility and professionalism.
• Judge Helen Halpert is chairing the Governor's Domestic Violence Study Group. The group was created to make recommendations about system responses to domestic violence in light of the Linda David case in Snohomish County. Judge Halpert asked if the Commission would like some input into the final report. Justice Madsen suggested encouraging use of the local domestic violence model as a way for communities to come together on the issue.
• Judge Appelwick requested the Commission consider the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act (RCW 26.27) and amendment/repeal of ESHB 1514.

NEXT MEETING AND ADJOURNMENT:
The next meeting will be a conference call on October 15. A regular meeting is scheduled for November 5.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:30 p.m.