MINUTES Chair Maring called the meeting to order at 8:15 a.m. and drew Committee members' attention to Attachment B (October 12, 2001) - Minutes of the April 6, 2001, meeting. It was moved by Judge Kleven, seconded by Barbara Voglewede, and carried unanimously that the minutes be approved. Law Firm Self-Audit Project - Update Chair Maring summarized recent activities concerning a possible law firm self-audit project in North Dakota. She said she had discussed the matter with Jody Bjornson, Chair of the State Bar Association's Women Lawyers Section, and she had also met with Dan Crothers, Association President, who is supportive of the association moving forward with such a project. She said both she and Dan Crothers agreed that bar involvement is critical if the self-audit project is to be successful and a small committee of bar leaders will be formed to review the possibility of initiating the project. She suggested that the Committee select a liaison to work with that committee. Committee members agreed that Pat Durick, given his standing within the bar, would be the Committees' best representative. Chair Maring said she would contact Pat about serving as the Committee's liaison. STOP Grant Funds for Domestic Violence Education Initiatives Chair Maring reviewed Attachment C (October 12, 2001) regarding the availability to the courts of STOP grant funds under the Violence Against Women Act. She said the courts may be able to obtain approximately $37,000 for development of initiatives to address issues related to domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault. She suggested the possibility of obtaining the funds to assist in preparing a benchbook specific to domestic violence. Jim Fitzsimmons observed that there may be a preference for direct services over education programs in determining whether STOP grant funds are awarded. He suggested reviewing whether that may complicate receiving funds for a benchbook. Judge Kleven suggested the possibility of funding to support changes to the Unified Court Information System to allow coordinated tracking of different cases within the judicial system which involve the same family. Jim Fitzsimmons agreed a domestic violence benchbook would be helpful, particularly in ensuring consistent application of state law and providing information about federal law requirements regarding recognition and enforcement of protection orders. For example, he said, dual protection orders are still issued fairly regularly, even thought state law limits such orders. Judge Kleven said a set of laminated cards that provide summaries of state and federal requirements regarding protection orders would be helpful, easy to use resources for judges. She said it is also important that judges have information concerning critical factors and questions that should be considered when setting bail. With respect to legal education concerning the dynamics of domestic violence, Barbara Voglewede said she would visit with Linda Bata, adjunct professor at the School of Law, about retaining the domestic violence component in the family law course. She said there are also some community law school efforts that may provide a vehicle for providing information about domestic violence to those in the community who may be uncomfortable contacting a lawyer. She said she would contact Ms. Bata and Ruth Jenny at the Law School to determine what resources may be available. Judge Kleven observed that local domestic violence advocates recently provided a very effective domestic violence training program in Grand Forks. She said it may be useful if such a program could be provided elsewhere in the state, perhaps on a regional basis. With respect to a possible benchbook, Justice Maring said it would be necessary to assemble information concerning how the project would be undertaken, and then write the grant application. The budget, she said, would likely include the costs of publishing, providing laminated cards, UCIS modification costs, and contracting with someone to do the actual drafting. It was moved by Barbara Voglewede, seconded by Jim Fitzsimmons, and carried unanimously that the Chair, on behalf of the Committee, request Chief Justice VandeWalle's approval for submission of a grant application for STOP grant funding to develop a domestic violence benchbook. Action Plan for Future Committee Activities At the request of Chair Maring, staff distributed a publication entitled "Gender Fairness in the Courts: Action in the New Millennium", which collects information on methods for continuing progress on gender fairness issues and for institutionalizing changes that have been made. Chair Maring said she had recently attended a New York conference attended by representatives of committees in 12 states working on issues concerning gender fairness in the courts. The conference, she said, provided a forum for discussion of implementation efforts in the various states and projects to institutionalize improvements that had been undertaken. She said the conference coordinators asked that each implementation committee develop an action plan for future activities based on information provided in the "Action in the New Millennium" publication. In that light, she requested that this Committee meet again in approximately 3 months to begin development of an action plan - to review what has been done and to determine future direction for the Committee's work. Chair Maring requested that Committee members review the publication generally, but consider particularly the following portions: On page 16, Key Components to Achieve & Secure Gender Fairness in the Courts; on pages 82 & 83, Specific New Court Initiatives with Which the Implementation Committee Should be Working; and on page 191, Questions to be asked regarding particular initiatives. For example, she said one of the initiatives noted on page 83 concerns alternative dispute resolution. She noted that the Joint Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution is currently studying implementation of ADR efforts in the state. There are, she said, gender issues in this area, particularly with respect to family law. It is important, she said, for judges to be aware of the dynamics at work in the mediation process, for example, and to be attuned to how factors such as unequal bargaining power may have contributed to a certain outcome, such as a mediated stipulation. With respect to judicial performance evaluations, also noted on page 83, she said the Judiciary Standards Committee, which is considering such an initiative, should likely be made aware of the possible differences in evaluating the performance of female and male judges. She said there are many areas in which gender issues may arise in the work of the courts, and it is important for the Committee to review possible methods of addressing those issues. Unfinished/New Business In response to a question from Chair Maring there were no suggested changes to the October Progress Report included as Attachment E (October 12, 2001). Chair Maring noted that at the New York conference there was discussion of possible methods for evaluating whether changed or new procedures, rules, or practices relating to gender fairness have had the desired effect. There is related information in the "Action in the New Millennium" publication. She said the Committee could perhaps consider possible ways of assessing whether any changes in North Dakota have had a discernible impact. Committee members agreed the Committee should meet in January or February, 2002, to begin consideration of an action plan. Members will be contacted to identify a workable meeting date. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:30 a.m. _________________________________ Jim Ganje, Staff Members Present
Justice Mary Muehlen Maring, Chair
Jim Fitzsimmons
Judge Debbie Kleven
Barbara VoglewedeMembers Absent
Judith Howard
Pat Durick
Judge Tom Schneider