Ann Norman & Phil Salvatori
President Margie, back from the summer of Chile, called the meeting to order. Ann Norman provided the Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance, while Phil Salvatori greeted visiting Rotarians (only closet member Frank Young) and guests.
Frank Young
Just to see if everyone was awake, Phil tried a new greeting: "Some of you are occasionally welcome at the BBRC." Fortunately at least one person was awake and Phil had to recant and give the Old Standard: "You are all always welcome at the BBRC."
Update on Exchange Student Cristobol Baladron
Morris Kremen
While in Chile, President Margie dined with former exchange student Cristobol Baladron and his family. She brought a present back for Cristobol's host family, the Morris Kremens, which Morris accepted.
Bob Moloney & Steve Lingenbrink
Bob Moloney, who has been organizing and marketing the BBRC Valentine Dine-Around for 15 or 20 years, again invited all to sign up either as hosts for six or eight people or as guests. The date is Saturday, February 13. Steve Lingenbrink chimed in with some help as well. Hosts need supply the space, cocktails, and an entree; guests will bring appetizers, bread, side dishes and wine. This is a wonderful event and a great way to get to know other members of the club well. I can personally vouch for that having been a participant.
Student of the Month: Nathan Hill
Student of the Month Nathan Hill & Larry May
Larry May introduced Nathan Hill, a 15-year-old 9th grader at Eastside Prep, as the BBRC Student of the Month. Nathan's parents, Rusty and Lisa, his sister, Rachel, Dr. Chuck Henry, the school head, and Nathan's Scoutmaster, Chris Meyers, were in the audience.
Nathan, a proud member of Boy Scout Troop 438, was in his full scout uniform. In addition to scouting, Nathan is involved in soccer and Auto Angels, a group that repairs cars for people who can't afford repairs. He has also been involved in fundraising and organizing the gathering of presents for troops in Afghanistan.
Nathan has his eye on MIT when he finishes high school.
New Member Induction Reprise: Chris Addison
Steve Vincent, Chris Addison & President Margie Burnett
New member Chris Addison was introduced by her sponsor, Steve Vincent. This was the second time Chris was inducted and she promised to stay put this time!
Steve wondered if anyone else was inducted more than once and the answer is yes. This scribe can think of Jonathan Koshar right off the bat and there are others. The record (three inductions) is likely held by the late Carol Hoeft. If anyone knows of anyone else who was inducted three or more times, please contact the scribe.
International Service Projects
John Martinka
After last week's stellar presentation on Antigua and Kenya, John Martinka shared a 3-minute video on BBRC international projects that was put together by Erinn Coder, Video Production teacher at Newport High School. It is a great video, recounting the history of BBRC international projects, including Computers for the World in Slovakia, dental labs in Russia and Romania, a fresh water project in Guatemala, several projects in Kenya and polio vaccinations in Ethiopia. If you ever need a video for a presentation this is a keeper.
Curtis Cummngs & Chris Ballard
Sergeant Cummings set about his business hauling Chris Ballard to the fore. It seems that Chris' insurance agency placed in the top 25 Washington insurance agencies, an honor that cost Chris $25. He did have an idea for insurance for missed board meetings, for which there were several takers, including Jenny Andrews, Chris Monger, and Chris Rasmussen.
Frank Young, Curtis Cummings & Steve Goldfarb
Steve Goldfarb's recent quote in Money Magazine on the best way to buy or sell gold earned him a $50 fine, but he was saved by Frank Young, who paid Steve's fine to settle up an old fine debt.
"The Status of the Trial Court System in the Current Budget Crisis and into the Future," Richard "Dick" McDermott, King County District Judge
Bob Holert introduced our speaker, King County Superior Court Judge Richard "Dick" McDermott. Judge McDermott, formerly a practicing lawyer in Bellevue, was appointed to fill a vacancy on the King County Superior Court in 2000 and since has had what he calls the best job in the world. After spending 10 months at the main courthouse in Seattle, Judge McDermott transferred to the Regional Justice Center in Kent.
He gave a little background on the state court system. There are 34 superior court judges at the Seattle Courthouse, 15 at the Regional Justice Center in Kent and 5 at Juvenile Court. There are three Appellate Courts, one in Seattle that handles the cases from King County north to the border and east to the Cascades, one in Tacoma that handles the cases from Pierce County south to the Oregon border and east to the Cascades, and one in Spokane that handles all the eastern Washington cases. And on top is the Washington Supreme Court in Olympia.
Bob Holert makes the introduction.
Judge McDermott also gave a few words of explanation on the bail process, in light of the recent killing of four Lakewood police officers by a person out on bail. He pointed out that the Washington and US Constitutions require that a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and the State has the burden of proving someone guilty. The Washington Constitution also requires that a defendant, except in capital cases, be allowed bail. Because of the presumption of innocence, bail must be set at a reasonable level, based on the information at hand at the bail hearing, which is often incomplete. Judge McDermott stated that a new test evaluating the defendant's dangerousness is being developed.
President Margie Burnett thanks Judge McDermott for his program.
The court system has been coping with the budget crisis by freezing judges' salaries and furloughing court employees. For example, the judges now have no judicial assistants [federal judges on the other hand, have at least two full-time law clerks and a much lower case load]. Yet, in King County, 3,000 new civil cases are filed each month (including marriage dissolutions), and 600-700 criminal cases are filed.
A notable example of a program that not only saves money for the system and is far more effective in stopping further criminal behavior is King County Drug Court. This was started by then Superior Court Judge (now Federal District Judge) Ricardo Martinez in 1994. Following King County's lead, 12 counties around the US now have similar courts. Recognizing that the US has the highest percentage of its population in prison of any country in the world (and the highest rate of recidivism), King County, as an alternative to prison, channels certain drug offenders into treatment programs. Approximately 300-400 people a year are channeled into this program, and it enjoys a 35% success rate, which is considerably higher than the recidivism rate among defendants sentenced to prison. Not only are the outcomes better, but the costs are substantially lower than incarceration.
Judge McDermott talks with Bob Moloney
Another success in alternate programs, started in 1987, are alternate treatment programs for juvenile offenders. These programs have reduced the population of incarcerated juveniles by 50%. All serious studies have concluded that treatment programs, when appropriate, are a much better option than prison.
Finally, King County has initiated an electronic case filing system, which is saving the county approximately $1 million dollars each year in administrative costs.
Judge McDermott gave a good report from the frontlines. In spite of all the challenges, King County has one of the lowest times between filing a case and trial of any Superior Court in the US (18-20 months).
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
Don't let this be you!
I was in a restaurant yesterday when I realized I desperately needed to pass gas. The music was really, really loud, so I timed my expulsions with the beat of the music.
After the song was over, I started to feel better. I finished my coffee and noticed that everybody was staring at me..
Then I remembered that I was listening to my iPod.
xx