Washington Courts: Press Release Detail

Innovating Justice Awards: Indian Child Welfare Court, Right to Counsel Program, Expanded Pro Bono Help, Facilitating Court Debt Relief

The Washington State Board for Judicial Administration (BJA) announced awards for innovative justice work involving a new Indian Child Welfare Court, a baby/toddler court, a collaborative Right to Counsel program for tenants, expanded pro bono services focusing on evictions and racial justice training, and programs that helped thousands of people resolve extensive court debt.

The awards were presented in late October to Clallam County Superior Court Commissioner Brandon Mack; Pierce County Superior Court Commissioner Clint Johnson; the Clark County Volunteer Lawyers Program; and for extensive work on court debt relief, Representative Tarra Simmons and her colleagues at Civil Survival, Kitsap County led by Judge Kevin Hull and his colleagues, Pierce County led by Judge Michael Schwartz and his colleagues, and Thurston County led by Judge Carol Murphy and her colleagues.

The Innovating Justice Awards were established in late 2020 by the BJA as a quarterly recognition of leadership during the COVID crisis that promoted innovation and responsiveness to issues of racial equity and access to justice. The award is now presented annually to an individual or group for exceptional leadership in helping courts deliver innovative and responsive justice using a race equity lens. 

“The inventiveness demonstrated by Washington courts to find ways to provide justice safely and equitably during the pandemic has been inspiring,” said Washington Supreme Court Chief Justice Steven González. “It also shows us the way to do better. Our justice system has not always provided access to justice and substantial equity to all.  Adherence to traditional methods can sometimes impede solutions. The BJA wants to encourage and recognize those who find new ways to improve access to justice for all Washingtonians. Commissioner Mack, Commissioner Johnson, the Clark County Volunteer Lawyers Program; Civil Survival, and the Kitsap, Thurston and Pierce county judges that hosted the LFO clinic have all done heroic work and deserve this recognition.”

The 2022 recipients of the BJA Innovating Justice Awards include:

• Clallam County Superior Court Commissioner Brandon Mack, for establishing two specialized new family/dependency court calendars — one focused on families who fall under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), and the second focused on families with infants or toddlers. “Commissioner Mack recognized the role that the court could play not just in enforcing the law, but also in mentoring the participants, teaching about and encouraging application of correct standards, and ensuring that the rights of Native families were protected,” wrote the Clallam County Superior Court judges who nominated him. “At the same time, he also recognized the benefits that would come from dedicating more time and effort to cases involving infants and toddlers. Like ICWA cases, he understood that part of the solution was finding the time to actually do what the law envisions.” Commissioner Mack and the Court Improvement Team (CIT) worked closely with local tribes to address challenges and develop consensus, and ensure tribal leadership is involved in the process. “The ICWA Court is working to change the culture for how Native families interact with the court system,” the judges wrote. Mack and the Court Improvement Team also recognized the special needs of families in dependency court who have babies and toddlers up to 3 years old. “Many people have excellent ideas on how to improve the courts’ response to challenges. Undertaking the hard work to bring a vision to reality takes committed effort over a prolonged period of time,” the judges wrote. “Commissioner Mack and the CIT have embodied that effort.”


• Pierce County Superior Court Commissioner Clint Johnson, for working collaboratively with local attorneys to “craft one of the most successful Right to Counsel eviction prevention programs in Washington state,” wrote Tacomaprobono Community Lawyers, who nominated him. “Evictions have disproportionately affected historically underrepresented and underserved communities. This is true across the state, but particularly true in Pierce County,” said the nominating letter. “Commissioner Johnson has been involved from the program’s inception by seeking input on processes from Tacomaprobono, communicating with his colleagues, and patiently building and pivoting where necessary. With his cooperation and support, our program implemented a successful, powerful Right to Counsel program that will help increase access to justice for underrepresented communities for years to come.”  


• The Clark County Volunteer Lawyers Program, for expanding the scope of the work they do and the resources available to vulnerable persons during the COVID pandemic and “one of the most challenging periods in recent history,” wrote nominator Judge Tsering Cornell. In addition to the family law, domestic violence survivor and general civil legal aid the program provides, they expanded to include “much needed eviction defense work” and helped put on a training session for the local legal community in combatting both explicit and implicit bias in the courtroom, Cornell wrote. The Clark County Volunteer Lawyers Program is active in both listening sessions and providing feedback to the local bench, and “is seen as a leader in civil legal aid statewide, and their advocacy work has helped bring much needed resources to Clark County and smaller jurisdictions statewide.” 


• Members of the organization Civil Survival and Kitsap, Pierce and Thurston counties, for working collaboratively to host Legal Financial Obligation (LFO) Reconsideration Days, helping thousands of people find relief from court debt they were unable to pay. The awards were presented to Representative Tarra Simmons and her colleagues at Civil Survival; Kitsap County led by Judge Kevin Hull and his colleagues; Thurston County led by Judge Carol Murphy and her colleagues; Pierce County led by Judge Michael Schwartz and his colleagues. Research shows the weight of court debt falls heavily on low-income persons and disproportionately on Black, Indigenous and Latino people. “Navigating court processes is difficult and daunting for the average person and can often be traumatic, and there is a great need for assistance with the LFO relief process. LFO Reconsideration Days helped provide a specific time and place where individuals could seek help with obtaining LFO relief,” wrote nominator Cynthia Delostrinos Johnson. “The LFO Reconsideration Days included outreach to the community, working with the clerks’ offices to obtain necessary records for identifying LFOs that were eligible for relief, working with prosecutors and public defense, working with judges who were willing to preside over the cases, and working with court administrators and court staff to help with the flow of the day.” The success of these programs, and their impact on many individuals struggling with court debt, might provide a pathway for other courts and counties interested in working on LFO relief. “They’ve improved the perceptions of justice for the courts, relieved outstanding LFO debt, and inspired others to find ways to proactively work with communities to deliver justice,” Delostrinos Johnson wrote. 

The Board for Judicial Administration includes judges from all court levels in the state, along with officials from other judicial branch agencies, and is charged with developing policy and providing leadership to the state judicial branch.