From the Desk of the Presiding Judge: The Bench and the Bar: Together Enhancing Court Accessibility and Ensuring Justice
By Judge Ketu Shah
As we are in the midst of harvest season, and giving thanks for all that we have, I want to thank the Bar Association for being partners with the Court to improve accessibility to courts, for championing the rule of law, and for ensuring we work toward a more civil society.
As part of that work, we will have our annual Bench Bar Conference on November 8 from 8 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. at the Seattle Convention Center. There should be some interesting current topics, including “Practical Application and Use of AI in Litigation” and “Remote Proceedings” as well as the usual Court updates from the Federal Court, Washington Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and Trial Courts. There will also be an opportunity to meet judges and have lunch with them during the lunch hour. This conference is one of my favorites because it allows the bench to meet with the bar and hear about some of their challenges and what we can do to better serve them. It is also a place to exemplify the importance of civil discourse, even when you have a ruling against you, we can still have civil conversations to improve access and maintain the rule of law. I encourage you to attend.
We are also very close to having our budget set, and again, I want to thank all the members who have participated in the process of reminding our executive and legislators about the importance of the courts. Your advocacy has made a difference in additional funds to help with unlawful detainers, civil protection orders, and court security. We are hopeful that these resources will get approved so we can make our court more accessible. We have noticed that theme continue in other departments as criminal trials and family law matters seek to be heard. They, of course, have statutory priority to get into courts but we want to ensure everyone has their cases heard including complex civil cases.
As we transition to the new year, we will say goodbye to some colleagues. Judge Andrea Darvas will be retiring in January, and her elected replacement is Nikole Hecklinger. Judge Kristin Richardson will retire at the end of January and the Governor is considering candidates to replace her. We will miss both of their expertise and experience. More to come in future columns.
What is an annual tradition for the Court, we are assigning judges to our departments. We will be making those decisions shortly and for practitioners, please keep an eye out for notices of cases being transferred to a new judicial officer. The transfer notices will go out in November but the effective date will be mid-January. The newly assigned judicial officers will hear those matters after mid-January.
And finally, the Clerk’s Office is implementing a new filing system that will go live on November 12. Please be on the lookout for training opportunities about how to use the new tool. We are optimistic it will give us more functionality and be user friendly for the Bar.
As always, we welcome feedback and conversation on how our court can serve the King County Bar and the members of our community. Please reach out to further that conversation.
