Washington



WASHINGTON STATE GENDER AND JUSTICE COMMISSION

Meeting Minutes

November 5, 1999

Two Union Square, Seattle

ATTENDEES

Commission Members:

Justice Barbara A. Madsen, Judge Marlin Appelwick, Judge Patricia H. Clark, Eileen Concannon, Helen Donigan, Esther Ervin, Judge C. Kimi Kondo, Judge J. Wesley Saint Clair, Judge Ann Schindler

Guests:

None

Staff:

Gloria Hemmen, Administrative Office Of The Courts

CALL TO ORDER

Justice Madsen called the meeting to order at 9:40 a.m.

COMMISSION BUSINESS

Approval of Minutes

It was moved and seconded to approve the minutes of the September 3, 1999, meeting.

Motion carried.

It was moved and seconded to approve the minutes of the October 15, 1999, conference call.

Motion carried.

Budget Report/Action

The Commission reviewed a written report for the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2000. The Commission has expended or encumbered $31,413.43 since July 1, 1999. Action was taken on the following budget items:

• The Commission received a letter of interest in funding a San Juan County DV Summit in October 2000. Action was deferred until a proposal and budget are submitted.

• The Commission discussed the request for $5,000 to help fund a hate bias crimes video that was tabled during the October 15, 1999, conference call. Consensus was a letter should be written to the producer explaining that this project does not fit within the mission of the Gender and Justice Commission.

• The Commission approved the purchase of 25 copies of the video to accompany the local

 

DV Summit Planning Manual. It was agreed there would be no charge for sending a copy to counties interested in conducting a local summit. Others requesting a copy will be charged actual costs of the tape and mailing.

Commission Membership

The Commission discussed the importance of attendance at meetings. It was agreed that the Commission will send a letter thanking former member Clotilde Molina for serving from 1994-1998. Former Commission members will be invited to the January meeting. Service awards will be presented at that time.

It was agreed that the Nominating Committee would work to fill two open positions: one for a trial court judge and the other for a college/university or citizen. Candidates will be recruited from Eastern Washington.

Judge Saint Clair, chair of the Nominating Committee, requested Commission members contact him with names of potential candidates.

Annual Report

For the past three years, the annual report has been a two-page summary of Commission activities. Since this is the ten-year anniversary of Gender and Justice, it was proposed that this report be a more comprehensive report on the work of the Commission.

It was moved and seconded to allocate funds to produce a ten-year report. Motion carried.

STATUS OF CURRENT PROGRAMS/PROJECTS

Education Committee: When Bias Compounds: Women of Color in the Courts

Justice Madsen reported that she is working to get a plenary session on the fall conference agenda for this program. Chief Justice Guy, Justice Ireland, Judge Bridge, and the chair of the Bar Education Committee are enthusiastic about the program.

All Commission members are requested to save the new date for the pilot program: Saturday, February 26, 2000.

The Education Committee is meeting at noon today with a prospective program facilitator.

Law School Presentations

Helen Donigan reported that the Gonzaga Law School presentation is scheduled for November 8, 1999. She thanked Judge Kondo for preparing a brief description of each of the publications. Justice Madsen and Tom Fallquist will participate in the presentation to the director of the law library. The program will include presentation of the rural domestic violence posters and ABA resource materials and an overview of the activities of the Gender and Justice Commission. The Law School will provide pizza and soda. Members of the Women's Law Caucus have invited Justice Madsen to dinner.

Judge Clark noted that one of the "hot" topics at Seattle University is "women of color." It was suggested that law school students might be willing to email anecdotes about experiences with bias or interview members of the bar.

Judge Kondo is working with Maggie Chon at Seattle University Law School to set up a program in January. Professor Chon would like to get faculty involved.

Judge Appelwick reported that November 16 is not going to work for a presentation at the University of Washington. His goal is to arrange a program before the first of the year.

Parenting Act Study Final Report

Almost 500 Parenting Act Study reports have been distributed and requests continue to come in. It was agreed that we will charge $10-$12 for the next 250 copies distributed to recover costs of printing and mailing.

It was agreed that implementation of the report's recommendations will be referred to Judge Kennedy and the Domestic Relations Commission, which meets on November 19. The emphasis is on education rather than legislative changes.

The Gender and Justice Commission will review all recommendations addressing Gender and Justice.

Judge Appelwick commented on the letter from Barry Nyman requesting guidance on the content of a video instructing parents how to complete a parenting plan. He noted lawyers don't have this information and not all parents go to classes. Diane Lye has agreed to collaborate with Mr. Nyman on this project.

Diane Lye is also participating in the Family Law Institute in Seattle on December 3 and Helen Donigan reported she has agreed to participate in a CLE at Gonzaga.

Local Domestic Violence Summits/Other Programs

Grant/Adams Counties' Summit action plans, evaluations, and a summary report from Lewis County were included in the meeting materials. The Snohomish County Summit is scheduled for Saturday, November 6, 1999.

It was recommended that funding for future local domestic violence summits include the following requirements:

1) Summits follow the model agenda, or present an agenda for Commission approval;

2) Summits include action planning;

3) Summits give credit to the Gender and Justice Commission for program development and financial support; and

4) It was strongly recommended counties use Nancy Ashley to facilitate the program.

Gloria noted that those programs that used a trained facilitator and followed the agenda resulted in action plans.

It was suggested that we send copies of the program agendas, evaluations, action plans, and a sample press release to counties interested in putting on a summit. It was also suggested that we encourage counties to hold summits at various times during the year rather than just in October.

It was moved and seconded to establish as a condition of the Gender and Justice Commission funding a local domestic violence summit that the program be in substantial compliance with the manual and the Commission be acknowledged in the program materials. Motion carried.

The Kitsap County DV Task Force held their 3rd summit on October 2. A copy of their newsletter was included in the meeting materials.

Justice Madsen reported that the Mason County Sheriff invited her to address the Mason County Domestic Violence Summit. Almost 100 people attended the all-day event.

The New Beginnings Board invited Eileen Concannon to make a presentation on domestic violence issues around the world. She has overheads that she is willing to share with other Commission members. Justice Madsen requested a copy of the materials.

Rural Domestic Violence Posters

The Commission distributed 53 sets of posters to judges following the annual judicial conference in October. Posters will continue to be distributed to judges and non-profit groups upon request. They will also be included with materials presented to the law schools and will be available at the rural and tribal court judges training programs scheduled in the spring.

Justice Madsen reported that she has received permission to hang the framed posters in the Temple of Justice.

It was moved and seconded to order 50 more sets of the posters. Motion carried.

Governor's Work Group on Domestic Violence

Judge Halpert's workgroup has completed its work. The report was distributed to the Commission. Although the recommendations address the need for communities to become more aware and take action, the report did not mention the Gender and Justice Commission's work or the local domestic violence summits.

Regional Conference on Full Faith and Credit - March 30-31

The Administrative Office Of The Courts has agreed to host the Northwest Regional Conference on Full Faith and Credit, "Crossing Borders," tentatively scheduled for March 30-31, 2000. The meeting is sponsored by the National Center for State Courts and the National Criminal Justice Association. Mary McQueen has appointed Gloria Hemmen as the local site coordinator. Judge Jim Riehl is attending the first program in New Orleans and will chair our local planning committee.

Commission members interested in working on this project include Eileen Concannon and Helen Donigan.

Clark County Domestic Violence Court

Justice Madsen circulated an article about Judge Randy Fritzler and the Clark County Drug Court. Judge Fritzler had discussed this project during the Southwest Regional Access to Justice meeting in September. This project may be of interest to counties sponsoring local domestic violence summits. Judge Ann Schindler agreed to find out more information about the DV Drug Court and will invite Judge Fritzler to a future Commission meeting.

Domestic Violence Manual for Judges

Gloria reported receiving several requests for the Domestic Violence Manual for Judges for use by pro tem judges. OAC's policy is to provide benchbooks only to judges and commissioners. The Commission has provided the manual to non-profit groups. The DV Manual along with other benchbooks can be purchased by attorneys for about $80 per book.

Since we would like to encourage pro tem judges to use the manual, it was suggested that we send each presiding judge one additional manual to be used in training pro tem judicial officers.

It was also suggested that we look into posting the DV manual on our web site.

Gender and Justice Web Page Development

The web page revisions are finished and it is ready to be posted. Additional work on the web page will be referred to OAC.

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

• Develop an active liaison system with court and law related organizations and law schools, including Washington Women Lawyers (WWL), the Northwest Women's Law Center (NWWLC), the King County Committee on Gender and Equality, Superior Court Judges' Association (SCJA) Equality and Justice Committee, and the District and Municipal Court Judges' Association (DMCJA) Diversity Committee.

It was agreed that we should invite representatives from three-four groups to attend each of the next two meetings. They will be asked to tell us about their priorities and agenda for the next two years and we can share our goals and interests. Eileen Concannon agreed to invite the presidents of WWL, the NWWLC, the King County Committee, and the University of Washington Women's Center to the January meeting.

• Implement the Curriculum When Bias Compounds: Women of Color in the Courts. The Pilot Program is scheduled for February 26, 2000.

• Continue local domestic violence summit support.

• Follow-up on Dr. Diane Lye's Parenting Plan research.

The next priority items were:

• Combining Women's History Month/Work with TVW to air the Washington Women Judges' Videotape and establish a Washington Women's Hall of Fame. Another suggestion was to coordinate with WWL and the NWWLC to do something for International Women's Day in March.

Justice Madsen proposed we post a speakers' bureau list on our web page and sample lesson plans for women's history month or International Women's Day in March. The Gender and Justice Commission could provide a lesson plan on "Women in the Law." This would include an introductory letter to a school or public service group and a copy of the women judges' history project videotape.

Eileen Concannon indicated she was interested in developing a lesson plan. A sample lesson plan from the Judges in the Classroom Program will be sent to all commission members.

• Informal Mechanism for Gender Bias Complaints

Several Commission members were interested in pursuing some avenue for gathering information on gender bias and following up on complaints. It was noted that an earlier Gender and Justice Implementation Committee did work with Washington Women Lawyers to develop such a mechanism. There were many concerns about protecting the reporting party and the judge against whom a complaint was lodged. Issues of confidentiality and public access to records could not be adequately addressed.

It was suggested that we first assess the current status on gender issues in the courts and make sure each court has a sexual harassment policy.

It was suggested that a forum on accountability should have a broader scope--access to justice, not just gender and justice.

By-Laws Review

Justice Madsen appointed Judge Pat Clark to look at revisions to the Commission's By-laws. Two policies in particular that may need change deal with the number of terms a member can serve and the number of approved absences from meetings.

OTHER BUSINESS

None.

NEXT MEETING AND ADJOURNMENT:

The next meeting is scheduled for January 7, 2000.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:40 p.m.

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