Board Meetings
By J. Mark Weiss
Judicial Evaluation Report. Henry Lippek presented the Board with the Judicial Evaluation Committee’s evaluation of district and municipal court judges, commissioners and pro tems, the results of which are published in this issue of the Bar Bulletin.
The only novel aspects of this year’s survey were its inclusion of pro-tem judges and it early completion, which was designed to allow mayors who appoint municipal court judges at year-end to take the survey results into consideration. There was little overall difference in results for appointed and elected judges. The Board approved the survey results, with one minor technical correction.
King County Library Board Report. Judge Shaffer made a presentation concerning the King County Law Library. The Library Board undertook a successful capital campaign to improve the Seattle library’s space and services. The campaign received much support from the bar, and was assisted by County Executive Ron Sims and County Prosecuting Attorney Norm Maleng. Due to its success, the law library now has wi-fi access, comfortable seating, new study carrels, improved conferencing facilities, free computer research and new artwork. The library’s catalog is now available on-line.
Not all is well, though. The library’s collection has become outdated and reduced, so the library is asking the county to provide its “proper” share of funds from the recent filing fee increase. The library currently receives $2 from the filing fee increase, but is entitled to receive up to $5.
Court Consolidation. Gary Maehara reported that he and John Cary met with Presiding Judge Richard Eadie and Prosecuting Attorney Norm Maleng to discuss the potential consolidation of the King County Superior and District Courts. Judge Eadie and Maleng have asked KCBA to take the lead on this issue. It was made clear that not all judges are in agreement with respect to potential consolidation.
This article discusses selected issues that were before the Board of Trustees at its September 7, 2005 meeting. The author wishes to thank Joseph Bringman for preparing minutes for that meeting. Complete minutes of this and other board meetings are available from the KCBA office. n
J. Mark Weiss is KCBA Secretary/Trustee. Mr. Weiss practices family law in Seattle. He can be reached at 206-622-6707.
