Washington Courts: Press Release Detail

Chief Justice Mary Fairhurst: “We must ensure that all who seek justice, find it.”

State of Judiciary address available on TVW  

OLYMPIA, WA – Washington courts are strong and are actively working within the judicial branch and with lawmakers to address challenges they face in providing effective justice in a safe environment to Washington residents, said Washington Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary E. Fairhurst in a spoken address to the state Legislature and elected officials today.

Delivering the State of the Judiciary address to a joint session of the Legislature in Olympia, Fairhurst detailed some new efforts and challenges for the courts, some long-standing issues, and some accomplishments of the judicial branch in the past two years.

“Bringing fair, efficient, effective justice to all the people of Washington in an era of uncertain funding and contentious times is an enormous challenge,” Fairhurst said. “We in the judicial branch are committed to continually improving justice by seeking new knowledge and better methods while not allowing the circumstances to overwhelm us.”

The oral address was broadcast live by TVW and was recorded. It can be viewed at https://www.tvw.org/watch/?eventID=2019011039.  A written State of the Judiciary report — in news magazine format — can be found at http://www.courts.wa.gov/newsinfo/content/StateoftheJudiciary2019.cfm.

Some new efforts at strengthening Washington’s justice system include large statewide task forces — such as one examining pretrial detention processes and legal financial obligations — while other smaller efforts include focused goals such as bringing more judges into classrooms. “We believe that each individual, each committee, and each court can make a difference and that every improvement, no matter the size, adds to the better whole,” Fairhurst said.

Fairhurst provided an overview of judicial branch efforts and challenges, including:

• Statewide task forces and studies — Large-scale undertakings to examine and improve elements of Washington’s justice systems include the Pretrial Reform Task Force, which will soon release recommendations involving pretrial detention and assessing risk of accused persons, among other pretrial processes; the Legal Financial Obligation Consortium, which is developing findings and recommendations involving court fines and fees connected with the ability of persons to pay them; and a comprehensive gender bias study which will examine the impacts of gender, along with race and ethnicity, on court interactions and outcomes.
• Technology — The judicial branch recently completed the 5-year implementation of a modern statewide case management system for Washington superior courts and county clerk offices — “on time and within budget,” Fairhurst told lawmakers — and is working on critical technology system needs for district and municipal courts as well as a statewide information hub for sharing judicial branch data between systems.
• Pressing needs — Judges and court leaders report that some of their most pressing needs include assistance paying for court interpreters, with Washington being in the top 10 states with diverse languages and with rural courts struggling to access interpreters. The other significant need is more expedient and accessible education and training for judges and courts staff, in the face of rapidly changing state laws and technology and societal changes like crack and opioid epidemics and the explosion of self-represented litigants.
• Improving understanding of justice system — The judicial branch worked hard on outreach activities in the past two years in efforts to improve knowledge of the judicial branch and the Constitution. These efforts included the Civic Education Initiative co-sponsored by state lawmakers and teachers, which has resulted in additional government education requirements in schools as well as pilot projects and online resources such as iCivics WA. Other endeavors included a new celebration of Constitution Day, which involved more than 100 judges and attorneys visiting classrooms to teach constitutional principles, and mentorship programs conducted with diverse youth throughout the state.

“Washington is fortunate to have a judicial branch filled with people who will never give up trying to make a difference and improving justice, in ways big and small,” Fairhurst told lawmakers.

“We must ensure that all who seek justice, find it.”

CONTACT:  Wendy Ferrell, (360) 705-5331, Wendy.Ferrell@courts.wa.gov; Lorrie Thompson, (360) 705-5347, Lorrie.Thompson@courts.wa.gov.