Washington State Bar Association Board of Governors to Meet August 4 and 5 in Port Angeles

Seattle, Washington, July 31, 2000 - The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) Board of Governors will hold its next meeting at the Red Lion Hotel in Port Angeles on August 4 and 5. Governor Dale Carlisle of Tacoma represents WSBA members from the sixth congressional district.

The Board of Governors, the body responsible for the governance of the WSBA, meets every six weeks at various locations around the state. Its meetings are open to the public.

On the agenda are discussion and possible action on whether to recommend that Governor Locke declare a moratorium on the death penalty. Persons scheduled to speak on this issue include Pamela Loginsky, representing the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, and Todd Maybrown and Roger Hunko, representing the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

The adoption of the Washington State Bar Association's Long-Range Strategic Plan Operational Plan for the coming fiscal year is also scheduled for action. Also on the agenda are approval of the 2000-2001 budget, a report about the American Bar Association's recently held annual meeting, and a report on the Partnerships for Equal Justice Initiative.

The Washington State Bar Association is a nonprofit organization authorized by the Washington State Supreme Court to license the state's 25,000 lawyers. Lawyers must be members of the WSBA in order to practice law in the state. Governors are elected for three-year terms by members of the Association – there are three governors from the seventh congressional district, and one from each of the other eight districts. The current president of the WSBA is Spokane attorney Richard C. Eymann, and the president-elect is Jan Eric Peterson of Seattle.

The Washington State Bar Association both regulates lawyers under the authority of the Court and serves its members as a professional association - all without public funding. As a regulatory agency, the WSBA administers the bar examination, provides record-keeping and licensing functions, and administers the lawyer discipline program. As a professional association, it provides continuing legal education for attorneys, in addition to numerous other educational and member-service activities.