Greetings, and happy summer. I hope you are planning for vacation travels, family time, or simply rest and relaxation. Summer is often a time for optimism as we rejuvenate with some well-earned time off and anticipate a busy fall season.
The Court just completed our 11th celebration of Juneteenth, and it was a glorious day at the Judge Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center. The event is organized by Sisters Who Care, a group that works within our Juvenile Court and has deep roots in our community. It was a joyous celebration held outdoors on the front stoop of our center with a food truck and live African music. The event illuminated the resilience of community members who have endured tremendous injustice and how we can, with community, overcome and create a better society.
Our employees are tremendous stewards of service, often organizing events like this throughout the year, on their own time and with the generosity of community (or their own) resources. Despite the heavy workloads our employees carry, they still find the energy reserves to organize events to connect with the people we serve. We are optimistic that the Court can continue to connect and serve the community with dedicated employees like Sisters Who Care.
As many of you have read in this column, the Court was recently under considerable financial pressures given the condition of the County and State budgets. We were asked to take about a $15 million cut (about 10%) to balance the books. This, of course, would have a direct impact on litigants, the Bar, and our community’s ability to access the courts. It would have meant entire departments being eliminated that include youth services, family services, and even calendars like ex parte being reduced. The Court collaborated with the County Executive and the County Council to explain to the State Legislature what these kinds of reductions would mean to people in their communities. They listened to our concerns and made some structural changes in how revenue is collected and distributed to allow Counties flexibility in their priorities.
This summer, the County will implement these changes, which means our budget will not be reduced and will include some opportunities to fund the courts to increase capacity in departments where filings have risen significantly. I credit our civic leaders for reminding folks how important courts are to our civil society and funding them appropriately so that they can function. I am optimistic this summer that there will be structural changes in our budget process that will be lasting.
And finally, I am optimistic about some of our newest members on the bench. I introduced some of them in my February column and since then, they have been working very hard in dependency cases, unlawful detainers, and trials. Because of their hard work, we have made progress in reducing the backlog of unlawful detainer cases and freeing up judges to do more civil and criminal trials. The time to resolve unlawful detainers has decreased from nine months to close to two months. We still have work to do, but the work they have done in such a short time on the bench is impressive. We also have a new member joining us, Kent Liu, on June 30.
Mr. Liu worked for 17 years at the Washington State Attorney General’s Office including prosecuting criminal cases, working on civil commitments for sexually violent predators, and defending state agencies. Before joining the Attorney General’s Office, Mr. Liu served four years as a special assistant U.S. attorney for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington and prior to that, Mr. Liu worked as a deputy prosecuting attorney in Pierce County for 12 years, prosecuting a range of cases including homicide, sexual assault, firearm and drug distribution cases.
Outside the courtroom, Mr. Liu volunteered with the King County Bar Association Neighborhood Legal Clinic in Seattle’s International District to provide legal services to low-income families, many of whom speak English as a second language, and he served as a pro tem judge for Seattle Municipal Court beginning in 2016. Mr. Liu earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington and his law degree from Seattle University School of Law.
As always, we welcome feedback and conversation on how our Court can serve King County barristers and the members of our community. Please reach out to further that conversation.
