Washington State



| |Gender and Justice Commission |

| |March 9, 2007 |

| |9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. |

| |Kilroy Airport Center SeaTac-South Tower |

| |18000 Pacific Highway South, Suite 1106 |

| |SeaTac, WA 98188 (360) 704-4057 |

|---DRAFT MINUTES---- |

PRESENT

Members: Justice Barbara A. Madsen, Judge Marlin Appelwick, Barbara Carr, Eileen Concannon, Jeri Costa, Judge Sara Derr, Judge Joan DuBuque, Judie Fortier, Grace Huang, Natasha Martin, Leslie Owen, Yvonne Pettus, Judge Jane Smith, Dan Thieme, Judge Linda Tompkins

Staff: Gloria Hemmen

CALL TO ORDER

Justice Madsen called the meeting to order at 9:10 a.m.

COMMISSION BUSINESS

Approval of Minutes

It was moved and seconded to approve the January 12, 2007 meeting minutes. Motion carried.

Budget Update

The Commission reviewed the budget status report. After noting that funding should be allocated for the Color of Justice Program at Seattle University School of Law in May, the report was approved.

Membership

The Nominating Committee reported that the terms of seven Commission members expire in June. Five of those members have served two terms and do not qualify for reappointment. The Commission emphasized the importance of considering diversity in selecting new members. [Note: Commission By-Law 3.2 states, When vacancies shall occur in the Commission, the Commission shall request the Chief Justice to appoint replacements. The Commission may submit a slate of nominees which shall be made with an eye to the continued racial, ethnic, gender, geographical, professional and citizen diversity and balance of the commission.] Commission members were asked to submit names of prospective candidates to the Nominating Committee before the May meeting.

 

PROJECTS/PROGRAMS STATUS REPORTS

STOP Grants to the Courts

Federal Fiscal Years (FFY) 04 and 05

Eleven projects funded from the FFY 04 and the FFY05 grants will be concluding by April 30, 2007. A request has been submitted for a no-cost extension to continue the FFY05 grant through April 30, 2008. The Commission reviewed a chart of projects and grant funded trainings.

Judge DuBuque reported King County has convened an oversight committee for the Domestic Violence and Child Maltreatment Protocol Project. The local protocols will be posted on the courts’ web, copy will be given to all judges, and training will be provided. She also noted that groups are meeting in Whatcom and Pierce counties.

Judge DuBuque agreed to review the new National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges resource Children’s Exposure to Domestic Violence: A Guide to Research and Resources, 2006. The manual might be a good resource to distribute during the Superior Court Judges’ Association Spring Conference program on Child Neglect and Infant Mental Health.

The next Domestic Violence and Ethics Workshop for Court Interpreters is March 10 in SeaTac. The final program is April 28 in Pasco. Judge Riehl will present the domestic violence section at the workshops.

Whatcom County District Court is sponsoring Effective Supervision of Domestic Violence and Stalking Offenders on March 22.

Judicial Access Browser (JABS) Training is scheduled in Spokane, April 5-6 and in Whatcom, April 25-26. Both small group and one-on-one training will be provided.

STOP Grant Status FFY 06

The Commission reviewed the summary of projects to be funded from the FFY 06 STOP Grant. Contracts are in process for projects in Asotin, Clallam, Clark, King, Spokane, Walla Walla, and Whatcom counties and the Court of Appeals, Division III. $89,041 was awarded on the basis of the Request for Proposal.

Gloria Hemmen reported she visited Clallam County Superior Court and was given a tour of the area of the courthouse that would be installing security measures with the STOP Grant funds.

The Commission has reserved $22,370 for education projects, secretarial services, and grant administration. One project may be support for a committee to work on ensuring protection order forms are written in “plain language.” Committee members recommended funding be allocated to hire experts, who are not lawyers, to simplify the language of all domestic relations forms. Another suggestion was to work with the courthouse facilitators to get the work done.

 

Education Programs

50th Washington Judicial Conference

The Commission submitted three education proposals for the 50th Washington Judicial Conference, September 16-19, 2007. The proposal on Firearms and Domestic Violence: Court and Community Safety was selected.

Judge Smith, a member of the Judicial Conference Planning Committee, noted priority is given to programs that impact judges at all court levels.

Commission members recommended we re-submit the education proposals for Human Trafficking and the Neurobiology of Addiction with new titles that focus on the impact on the state courts.

The Firearms and Domestic Violence program planning committee, Justice Madsen, Judge DuBuque, Judge Derr, Grace Huang, Judge Wickham, and Dianne Harrison from the Washington State Patrol, will have their first meeting today.

Spring Judges’ Conferences

Judge Wickham and Judge Buckley are scheduled to speak on Domestic Violence, Protection Orders, and Firearms Forfeiture at the District and Municipal Court Judges’ Association Conference in Pasco in June. The short program description is: A District and Superior Court Judge will explain the law and best practices in issuance of domestic violence no-contact orders. A Chief Criminal Deputy Sheriff and a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney will discuss problems that can result. The panel will present a protocol to require surrender of weapons in these cases.

Color of Justice

The Commission will sponsor a Color of Justice Program at Seattle University School of Law this spring. Prof. Natasha Martin reported Dean Kelly Testy supports the program and Carol Cochran Assistant Dean for Admissions, and several other professors are interested in helping with logistics and program planning.

Judie Fortier confirmed that Chief Leschi School was interested in sending 16-18 students to the program. As soon as a date could be confirmed for both Chief Leschi and Seattle University School of Law, other schools/groups would be recruited and contact would be made with prospective faculty members.

Justice Madsen, Judie Fortier, Natasha Martin, and Judge Jane Smith will serve on the planning committee.

Judicial Access Browser (JABS) Training

Judicial Access Browser (JABS) training is scheduled on April 5-6 in Spokane and April 25-26 in Whatcom County. Both small group and one-on-one training is planned. Training will also be scheduled in Benton-Franklin and Yakima counties before June 30.

Domestic Violence Protection Order Form Article

The Commission reviewed a draft article on the mandatory protection order form for the Washington State Bar Association BAR News. Jan Michels had offered to get an article published in the BAR News to educate attorneys on the need to use the revised form.

Legislative Committees

Human Trafficking Task Force

The Model Law Subcommittee has reviewed Washington State law in comparison with the Federal Model Law and two pieces of legislation from California. The subcommittee developed proposed recommendations for the task force to consider at its March 12 meeting.

Judie Fortier reported the National Organization of Women Board discussed the intersection of trafficking and immigration law. Women are being deported and their children put into foster care.

Grace Huang noted Congress passed the Northwest Immigrants Rights project is working on how states enforce federal law.

Dissolution/Shared Parenting Workgroup/SB 5470

Grace Huang reported SB 5470 was passed by the Senate but the financial provisions were stripped out. The bill removes the “presumptions” in creating residential schedules. She noted the BAR objected to the screening family law liaison. There will be a 15 day waiting period before filing a dissolution.

Annual Report 2006

Commission members were requested to submit award/honors information for 2006. The report is expected to be completed by April.

Programs for Juveniles:

Northwest Girls Coalition Conference

Barbara Carr provided information on the Northwest Girls Coalition Conference in collaboration with the Governor’s Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee (GJJAC). The conference will be held May 4, 2007 at the Museum of Flight, Seattle, and will include sessions on juvenile justice, detention alternatives, risk assessment, and intervention. It was agreed to send notice of the conference out on the Superior Court Judges’ Association list serve and offer travel scholarships for two judicial officers and two juvenile court administrators to attend the program. Tuition scholarships are available from GJJAC.

Girl Scouts Anti-Violence Program

Information was provided on the American Bar Association’s project with the Girl Scouts to teach young girls how to protect themselves from violence.

National Institute on Using Interpreters in Domestic Violence Cases

The Commission approved allocating up to $3,500 for at least six scholarships to assist legal services and pro-bono attorneys to attend the American Bar Association sponsored National Training Institute on the Use and Integration of Interpreters in Civil Representation of Victims of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Stalking is scheduled for May 14 -15, 2007 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Seattle.

 

Leslie Owen and Grace Huang will send out information about the training to legal services and pro-bono attorneys.

Other Items of Interest

Title 26 Guardian ad Litem Resource Manual

The King County Bar Association workgroup has assigned the chapters of the new Guardian ad-Litem Manual. The Commission is providing $4,800 toward completion of the project.

National Association of Women Judges

Justice Madsen reported Justice Ruth Ginsberg will be speaking at the American Judges Association Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia in September. She proposed collaborating with the National Association of Women Judges, Seattle University School of Law and other organizations to invite Justice Ginsberg to Washington State.

American Bar Association (ABA)

Eileen Concannon reported Karen Mathis, ABA President, will be in Seattle April 2-5 for a continuing legal education program at Seattle University School of Law ands to meet with Washington Women Lawyers Board.

Initiative for Diversity Governing Council (IDGC)

Justice Madsen reported the IDGC continues to meet. Richard Mitchell has been appointed chair for three months. The group is meeting monthly and making progress on finalizing the commitments to diversity.

Eileen Concannon thanked Justice Madsen for her continuing work on the project. She reported that Bar Associations in Boston, Chicago, New York, Columbus, and San Francisco have drafted commitments on diversity and have reports posted on their websites.

Women’s History Consortium

Judie Fortier noted Shanna Stevenson is working on a fund-raising event to support projects in 2010 celebrating Washington women’s winning the vote. Ms. Stevenson is looking for copyright approval to put the video Her Day in Court on the Women’s History Consortium’s website.

Justice Madsen noted TVW has expressed some interest in updating the video.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 12:15 p.m.

 

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