September 2002

The Board's Work

The Board of Governors met in Ocean Shores on July 26-27, following their annual planning retreat. All governors-elect (Andrea Brenneke, Howard Graham, Joni Kerr and Ron Ward) were in attendance, in addition to current BOG members.

Starting the public meeting was a presentation by Governor Jon Ostlund, Whatcom County public defender; Robert Boruchowitz, president of the Washington Defender Association (WDA); Christie Hedman, executive director of the WDA; and William Jaquette, director of the Snohomish County Public Defender's Office. Governor Ostlund began by stating that the issues facing public defense are access-to-justice issues, and that public defenders and the ATJ community are serving the same people, the majority of whom have special needs. Many accused of crimes receive inadequate representation, resulting in the conviction of innocent people, individuals being incarcerated for too long, and the clogging of jails and the court system. Lack of funding for public defense is a very serious issue — caseloads are so high that defenders often are unable to provide effective representation. For example, in Whatcom County, each public defender will handle 230 cases this year (there are approximately 230 working days in the year).

Hedman told how the WDA was created in 1983 to provide training to public defenders statewide. Current standards were developed 13 years ago, and not all cities and counties have adopted them. The WDA is in the process of developing new standards, which they will bring to the BOG within the next year. Jaquette highlighted problems regarding caseloads, investigative staff, supervision, training, experience and salaries. Since 2000, his office has had a 61 percent turnover in lawyer staff. He asked for moral leadership from the WSBA.

Boruchowitz, who has 28 years of experience doing public-defender work, said that there has always been a budget crisis, but this is the worst he's seen. He recommended the following: (1) establishment of a task force within ATJ that addresses public-defense issues; (2) development of a CLE program on ways to provide defense; (3) leadership on the adoption and promotion of adherence to the standards; (4) support on legislative issues; (5) reinvigoration of the death-penalty study; and (6) support in revising the standards.

Governor Jenny Durkan, stating that the legal community must address criminal-defense rights and begin talking about these issues in terms of access to justice, moved that the BOG create a Task Force on Defense, to work with the ATJ community and other organizations in examining the problems. The motion passed unanimously.

Voluntary Reporting of Pro Bono Work

Gail Smith, chair of the Pro Bono and Legal Aid Committee (PBLAC), presented a recommendation from the committee that RPC 6.1 (Pro Bono Publico Service) be modified to more closely follow the ABA's model rule. The proposed amendments (which, if approved by the BOG would then go to the Supreme Court) would accomplish the following: (1) codify the current goal of at least 30 hours annually of pro bono legal service; (2) provide a more specific definition of pro bono and ways to fulfill pro bono responsibility; (3) provide for voluntary reporting of pro bono hours; and (4) provide for recognition of attorneys who contribute at least 50 hours of pro bono legal services in a year. Smith made it very clear that the proposed amendments call for voluntary — not mandatory — reporting, and the committee does not recommend mandatory reporting.

The governors, while fully supporting pro bono work, voiced several reservations about the proposed change. What would be the cost of entering the data? Would it be appropriate for all our members? Would this alienate some members? Some governors liked the idea of voluntary reporting; others felt that while it is important to encourage members to do pro bono work, this isn't the way to do it. A motion made by Governor Ostlund to adopt the proposed amendments to RPC 6.1 was tabled until the October meeting, as there was consensus that the governors first wanted to hear from members before taking action. (Note: The BOG is seeking member input. Please see article on page 43 for additional information.)

Governor Ken Davidson moved that the president appoint a special 10-14-member Student-Loan Crisis Task Force to "develop action recommendations to lessen the unfavorable impacts student-loan burdens have on areas such as access to justice, specific practice areas, pro bono service, and professional development." The motion passed unanimously. The special task force will include representatives from WYLD, public defenders, prosecutors, the attorney general's office, a law-school dean or delegate, a law-school student leader, a BOG liaison and others, to assure expertise and diversity. The task force will be requested to make recommendations to the BOG by the July 2003 meeting.

WSBA Executive Director Jan Michels and Director of Information Technology Maureen Sunn presented an overview of the WSBA's technology systems, including hardware, software, and network infrastructure, and associated costs. The WSBA's network has been strengthened, as recommended by the auditors. A new financial-management system has been selected and is scheduled for installation this fall; the governors unanimously approved purchase of the financial package. A new membership system will be selected this winter. Comprehensive requests for proposal (RFPs) were developed for both new software systems, and these projects are being tightly managed. A grievance module is also required, which may require a separate application to be purchased or developed. Sunn discussed the components of the "project management triangle" — scope, budget and schedule — and explained how a change in one side of the triangle affects the other components.

Treasurer Brooke Taylor led the board through the recommended budget for the October 2002-September 2003 fiscal year. The budget restores the targeted reserve of eight percent by the end of the fiscal year. The budget was adopted unanimously. (For detailed information, see the WSBA Web site at www.wsba.org/info/operations/finances.)

The board approved the recommendations of the Awards Committee to award the Outstanding Judge Award to Judge James Murphy of Spokane County Superior Court and to Judge Michael Hurtado of the Municipal Court of Seattle. President Dale Carlisle received board confirmation of his selection of Walt Krueger for the President's Award. This year's Awards Committee was chaired by Governor Lucy Isaki.

The two WSBA members on the Court-Funding Task Force are Ron Ward (governor-elect from the 8th District) and Seattle attorney Kirk Johns. This task force is being convened by the Supreme Court.

Professionalism Committee Chair Marijean Moschetto and BOG Liaison Steve Henderson gave an update on the committee's activities. The committee has focused on dissemination of the Creed of Professionalism. Working cooperatively with county bar associations, Creed of Professionalism plaques are in place in nearly 50 percent of Washington's 39 counties.

Representing the Facilities Committee, commercial real estate attorney Ellen Dial gave the board a very comprehensive presentation on the committee's work. The WSBA's lease expires in 2006, and the committee has developed a set of criteria and has been examining leasing and ownership options. The BOG unanimously voted to accept the preliminary conclusions of the committee: (1) staying in the downtown Seattle corridor; (2) not building a facility; (3) emphasizing parking, in-house CLE or CLE and other teleconferencing and accessibility; and 4) entertaining ownership only if it is at the same approximate long-term cost (but continue to look at ownership options).

Court Rules and Procedures Committee Chair Moses Garcia characterized this year as one the committee spent responding to rule suggestions from the Supreme Court, BOG and others. The BOG voted to defer action on Criminal Rules (CrR) 4.2, 4.7 and 4.1 (new) until September, so defenders would have a chance to respond. The BOG had decided to defer Rule of Evidence (ER) 412 to September, so that members of the Civil Rights Committee and all governors could be in attendance. Governor Bryce Dille made a motion to send the Rules Committee recommendation to amend General Rule (GR) 14 concerning universal citations to the Supreme Court; the motion passed. The BOG approved the committee's request that a special subcommittee be formed to overhaul the RALJ and writ procedures.