Washington Courts Report

• 2025 Legislative Review

  In this edition, host Patric Haerle is joined by Haily Perkins, Supervisor of the AOC’s Office of Judicial and Legislative Relations, and Court of Appeals Division II Judge Rebecca Glasgow, Chair of the Board for Judicial Administration’s Legislative Committee. Tune in to hear highlights from the 2025 legislative session, including a discussion of key bills impacting judicial operations. Perkins and Judge Glasgow provide insight into how the BJA develops and submits its legislative proposals, review some of the most significant bills affecting courts and the AOC at the and offer a preview of what might be on the horizon for next year. 

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• Innovating Justice: Yakima's Courthouse Clinic

  In this edition, host Patric Haerle interviews the Executive Director of Central Washington Legal Aid Quinn Dalan and Yakima Municipal Court Commissioner Wendy Winfield. who founded Yakima’s Courthouse Clinic Program, which received a 2024 Innovating Justice Awards for its work to finalize family law cases in Yakima. The award recognizes individuals or groups for providing exceptional leadership in helping courts across Washington State deliver innovative and responsive justice using a race equity lens. The Courthouse Clinic, founded by Dalan, Winfield and Judge Shane Silverthorn, has helped hundreds of individuals, often pro se or non-English speaking litigants, by assisting them in completing essential forms to finalize their agreed or default family law cases. Before the implementation of the Courthouse Clinic, individuals would arrive at court thinking that they were finished and were sent back and rescheduled, often numerous times, before they brought in the correct paperwork to the judge. Dalan and Winfield were able to provide access to justice for those who don't understand how to navigate the legal system and don't have the resources to hire attorneys. Today’s episode covers the functions of the Courthouse Clinic, how it got started, what motivates Dalan and Winfield to go above and beyond in their field and how they felt when the work was recognized with the Innovating Justice Award.

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• Innovating Justice: Pierce County Pathways to Progress

  In this edition, host Patric Haerle interviews one of the recipients of the 2024 Innovating Justice Awards, Dom Hardeman, Pierce County District Court’s Probation Manager, on Pierce County’s one-of-a-kind Pathways to Progress Program. The award recognizes individuals or groups for providing exceptional leadership in helping courts across Washington State deliver innovative and responsive justice using a race equity lens. The program, which was created by Hardeman, has helped hundreds of justice-impacted individuals by connecting them to essential services for recovery and reintegration, such as behavioral health services, employment connections and training, and housing services. Topics of conversation for today’s episode include the creation of Pathways to Progress, how the program is innovating justice in Pierce County, and what motivates Hardeman to go above and beyond in his work serving Pierce County.

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• Blake Refund Bureau Spotlight

  For our March edition of Washington Courts Report, host Patric Haerle interviewed the AOC’s own Chris Stanley, the Chief Financial and Management Officer for the AOC, and Robin Zimmermann, the Blake External Relations Liaison on the important work of the Blake Refund Bureau. In 2021, the Washington State Supreme Court found the law criminalizing drug possession unconstitutional. As a result of this decision, known as State v. Blake, any Blake-related convictions in Washington State qualify to be vacated from one's criminal record, and any legal financial obligations paid as a result qualify for financial reimbursement. To administer these reimbursements statewide, the Washington State Legislature determined a centralized bureau would be instrumental. AOC was appointed the task of developing the Blake Refund Bureau in collaboration with local courts and county clerks, public defenders, prosecutors, impacted individuals, advocacy groups and other stakeholders, which launched July of 2023. Highlights of the episode include the history of the Refund Bureau, a clip from a Blake-impacted Individual on how having their record vacated has helped them and insight into how much money has been refunded to Blake-impacted individuals and how much is still slated for distribution.  We want to hear from you about how we can best improve the show! If you have any feedback, suggestions, or ideas for future episode topics please email them to [email protected]

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• Hope Card Program Launch

  For today's episode, Patric interviewed program analyst for the AOC, Lauren Pilnick, and Survivor Advocate, Jamie Sullivan, on their role they’ve played in the launch of the state’s Hope Card program, which launched on January 1st of this year. The Hope Card Program makes it easier for individuals with full civil protection orders to carry important details about their orders. These wallet-sized, durable cards include the information law enforcement needs to verify a protection order if a violation occurs. Hope Cards are a simpler way to inform police, employers, schools, or landlords about your protection order and are completely free. Highlights include the first statistics from the programs first 6 weeks of being live, the importance of this bill to survivors and holders of protection orders, and journey the program took from a single advocate’s idea in 2023, all the way to the presentation of the first Hope Card to Sullivan this year. We want to hear from you in how we can best improve the show! If you have any feedback, suggestions, or ideas for future episode topics please email them to [email protected]

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