By Judge John P. Erlick

Those of you who have been to the downtown King County Courthouse recently may have noticed many physical changes to the building as a result of the seismic retrofit project and upgrades to the building entrances. Behind-the-scenes and less visible have been lots of “non-structural” changes--changes to the court system. Confronted with shrinking financial resources, change for the courts is not an option; it is a reality and a necessity. And as most of us know the adage, necessity is the mother of invention.

Many of these changes are technological in nature, including automating the court’s civil case management system, implementing an e-filing program, developing public electronic access to case files, and the launching of Web pages for the court calendars and individual judges.

Did you know that, on July 30 of this year, the Clerk’s office accepted the first ever electronically filed legal pleading? Through October the “e-filing” process will be refined with the participation of several pilot groups. By the end of this year, the court projects the system will be open for all filings.

Have you heard that the Unified Family Court recently expanded to include the Seattle courthouse? Started as a pilot project at the Regional Justice Center in Kent, the department now has six judges, including a Chief Judge and seven court commissioners providing intensive case management services for complex family law cases involving children. Are you aware that criminal department judges are now assigned the same number of civil cases for pre-trial purposes as civil department judges?

These and other mysteries of the courthouse will be revealed at this year’s Bench-Bar Conference entitled “Practicing in a World of Change,” to be held on November 11, 2004. The conference is a unique, once-a-year opportunity designed to give judges and practitioners a forum to discuss developments at the courthouse, exchange ideas, make suggestions and present proposals in an informal setting.

From the bench, presenters at this year’s conference will include Assistant Presiding and incoming Chief Judge at the Regional Justice Center Michael Trickey, Chief Criminal Judge Palmer Robinson, Chief Civil Judge James Doerty, Unified Family Court Chief Judge Joan Dubuque and numerous other judges from all departments of the court. The judges will be joined in the sessions by leading practitioners in the community.

Discussions will be held in both plenary sessions and breakout sessions, which will be facilitated by judges and practitioners. Topics will be wide-ranging and include the status of General Rule (GR) 31, which governs electronic filing and remote access to electronically-filed records. GR 31 is at the judicial and legal vortex of efficiency, privacy, security, and transparency issues. A demonstration and question and answer period on e-filing will be included in the Bench-Bar Conference. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss the implications of this and other developing technology, including protecting clients’ privacy and financial information and creating standards for modern practice.

Other issues for discussion will include proposals for limits on civil discovery and early alternative dispute resolution. The Judges Rules Committee is now considering this for implementation next year. How will this affect the balance between practicality and the need for sufficient information? Judges and practitioners will address sentencing alternatives and developing case law in the criminal arena and its possible consequences on criminal caseloads. Family law participants will discuss new local rules and the impact of the expanding role of Unified Family Court and the inaugural designation of a Dependency Judge in the Juvenile Department.

This is truly an excellent opportunity to provide feedback to the court: to let judges and administrators know what’s working, what’s not and to voice your concerns. The judges and the court strive to develop and improve systems and service with the increasingly limited resources we have available. This is your chance to collaborate with us to reach this goal. The judges want to hear from you. We hope you attend.