Justice Without Barriers Committee

Mission

Ensure a fully inclusive justice system by identifying and removing impediments to accessing and using the justice system, including physical, language, and communication barriers, and other barriers resulting from ineffectual and unworkable rules, complex procedures, disparate treatment, and any other obstacles that may serve as impediments to achieving equal and meaningful access to justice.

Current Goals and Initiatives

The Committee oversees the work of four sub-committees:

  • Disability Access: This sub-committee has just completed a new publication, Ensuring Equal Access for People with Disabilities: A Guide for Washington Administrative Proceedings. This publication is an adaption of the Committee’s publication Ensuring Equal Access for People with Disabilities: A Guide for Washington Courts (updated 2011).
  • Administrative Justice: This sub-committee conducted a status review of a report it prepared in 1997 which identified 13 impediments to the justice system, the majority of which were targeted to addressing impediments at the adminstrative level. Based on this review, the subcommittee is developing a set of recommendations for improvements in administrative law and procedure.
  • Pro Se Project: The ATJ Board is collaborating with the Administrative Office of the Courts and the State Office of Administrative Hearings to address the needs of those who are unrepresented.  The ATJ Board has adopted the Committee’s Washington State Plan for Integrated Pro Se Assistance Services.  With funding from the Supreme Court and the Washington State Bar, the Pro Se Project is translating  family law forms to plain language format.
  • Electronic Access: This sub-committee is exploring solutions to a lack of uniformity in the public's ability to access court records in Washington's counties.

History and Accomplishments

In 1996, the ATJ Board established two related committees: the Systems Impediments Committee, which was charged with identifying and removing impediments for people whose status makes it difficult or impossible to meaningfully access the justice system; and the Status Impediments Committee, charged with identifying judicial, legislative, and administrative systems impediments to access and recommending and implementing changes to those systems. In 2000, the ATJ Board consolidated these two committees into one standing committee, the Impediments to Access to Justice Committee. In recent years, the Impediments Committee has substantially focused its efforts on addressing barriers to the justice system for people with disabilities, which has resulted in three significant initiatives:

  • Ensuring Equal Access for People with Disabilities: A Guide for Washington Courts. This publication, and its accompanying brochure, are a resource for judicial officers and court staff to address the barriers posed by their own courthouses and court practices. They have been distributed to every judge, court administrator and administrative law judge in the state. The Committee has developed a PowerPoint presentation and has made numerous presentations about the Guide. 
  • GR 33: Adopted by the Supreme Court in 2007, the rule creates a process by which individual litigants can confidentially notify the court if they have disabilities. 
  • The Committee was instrumental in legislation that created an Access Coordinator position at the Administrative Office of the Courts. 

In May 2009, the ATJ Board established a priority to address barriers facing pro se individuals in the justice system. Given the similarity of focus between this Committee and the ATJ Board’s Pro Se Committee, the two committees have merged into the Justice Without Barriers Committee. The merged committee will continue with current initiatives; it also is overseeing the ATJ Board’s new Pro Se Project, a joint initiative with the Office of Administrative Hearings and the Administrative Office of the Courts, and which has been supported with funds from the Supreme Court.

Upcoming Meetings

  • October 5, 2012: Justice Without Barriers Retreat, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m., Washington State Bar Association

    Please RSVP to Joan Fairbanks (joanf@wsba.org) by September 28 if you plan to attend.
  • November 13, 12–2 (by conference call)

Meeting Minutes

Committee Co-Chairs

Hon. Greg Sypolt, Spokane County Superior Court

Josefina Ramirez, Northwest Justice Project

Committee Members

Staff Liaison
Joan Fairbanks

206-727-8282

Contract Staff
Charles Dyer
360-738-6439

About the Access to Justice Board