Washington Courts: Press Release Detail

May 22 Symposium Provides Unique Insight into How Judicial Decisions Affect Health; Public Welcome

The Washington State Supreme Court Symposium sponsored by the Minority and Justice Commission (MJC) will once again offer a public seminar on May 22 that explores how judicial decisions impact individual and community health.

The symposium is scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon at Motif Hotel in Seattle, is free and open to the public, and will be livestreamed by TVW. Registration for in-person seating is being accepted on a first-come, first-served basis at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TZLT5HV.

“Beyond the Bench: Exploring How a Judge's Decisions Can Impact Health,” is the most recent educational session in a series of MJC symposia presented annually to the Washington Supreme Court. Each year a topic is chosen which examines issues affecting people of color at all levels of state courts, with recommendations to better ensure fair and equal treatment.

A judge’s decisions may affect factors that are critical to individual and population health such as housing stability, socio-economic position (including education and income), access to health care, structural racism, and the quality of the environment. Yet, judges are rarely given guidance and training on these impacts and how they relate to the law.

Symposium participants will be able to understand how the social determinants of health — particularly poverty and racism — are relevant to legal cases. The Symposium presenters will make the connection between these health factors and issues such as a state worker’s compensation cases, child welfare cases, and cases where people in prison are requesting release.

Justice Yu stated that the topic “offers an opportunity for the Court and the public to better appreciate the relationship between judicial decisions and the health of a local community. It is an opportunity for each one of us to stretch our mind and to better appreciate the social impacts of our decisions.”

Judge Galván, co-chair of the Minority and Justice Commission, added, “Judicial decisions are typically seen through the lens of the impact on the individual before the court. This program provides a different perspective — how these decisions influence the collective health of the families, neighborhoods and communities in which we serve.”

Salus Populi is the only judicial education program dedicated to training judges on the social determinants of health and their relationship to law. It is a project in collaboration with the Center for Health Policy and Law at Northeastern University School of Law and the Institute for Health Equity and Social Justice Research at Northeastern University. Salus Populi is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson and W.K. Kellogg Foundations.

The Washington State Minority and Justice Commission was established by the state Supreme Court in 1990 to determine whether racial and ethnic bias exists in the courts of Washington and to take creative steps to overcome and prevent them. The Commission grew out of a task force established in 1988 at the urging of state legislators.

CONTACT: Frank Thomas, Senior Court Program Analyst with the Washington State Minority and Justice Commission, (360) 704-5536, Frank.Thomas@courts.wa.gov; Kelley Amburgey-Richardson, Administrative Manager for the Supreme Court Commissions, Kelley.Amburgey-Richardson@courts.wa.gov