Superior Court Judges' Association Receives Washington State Bar Association Affirmative Action Award

Seattle, Washington, September 15, 2000 — The Superior Court Judges' Association (SCJA) was presented with the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) Affirmative Action Award at a luncheon held in Spokane today. The award was accepted by the Honorable James Murphy. Judge Murphy is president of the SCJA and is a Spokane County Superior Court Judge. The SJCA received the award for their manual titled Quick Reference to Disabilities in the Courtroom.

The reference manual was written and compiled by members of the SCJA Equality and Fairness Committee. The Honorable Richard Eadie is chair of the committee. Other committee members are Judges Dean Lum, LeRoy McCullough, Carol Schapira, Greg Sypolt and Dennis Yule, and Commissioner Marilyn Sellers. The committee had staff support from Naomi Hanson of the Office of the Administrator for the Courts.

The idea for the manual was developed from discussions of disability issues which had arisen throughout the state. The judges felt that the information gleaned in these conversations would be helpful to judges statewide. Therefore, judges were asked to send descriptions of experiences regarding accommodating disabilities in the courtroom for inclusion in the manual. Using those issues as a foundation for the eight chapters, each member assumed responsibility for a particular subject. The manual was presented to each superior court judge and full-time commissioner at the spring conference of the SCJA in April.

The Washington State Bar Association is a private, non-profit organization authorized by the Washington State Supreme Court to license the state's 26,000 lawyers. The WSBA 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, it administers the bar exam, provides record-keeping and licensing functions, and administers the lawyer discipline program. As a professional association, the WSBA provides continuing legal education for attorneys, in addition to numerous other educational and member-service activities.