Posted by Paul Casey on Oct 16, 2019
Former Washington State Supreme Court Justice  Faith Ireland introduced our speaker, King County Superior Court Presiding Judge Jim Rogers. Ms. Ireland said that Judge Rogers was elected in 2004 and has presided over numerous cases that include civil, criminal, family law, dependency, and involuntary treatment. He is a graduate of the University of Washington and Georgetown Law School. He also served in the Peace Corps.  Ms. Ireland said that Judge Rogers would focus on two major issues facing the court system today: the state of the King County Superior Court system and the incarceration crisis.
 
Judge Rogers began his remarks by speaking about the importance of jury duty. He said that jury duty provided the most direct experience a citizen will ever have in finding out how the court system works.
 
He then provided a historical glimpse of how the court system was developed in the 1889 Washington State Constitution. A two-court system approach was adopted: Court of Appeals and Superior Court.  Currently, there are 53 judges and nine commissioners that make up the Superior Court of King County.  There has been a 60% change in the makeup of the Superior Court in recent years.
There are four buildings in the Superior Court System:
  • King County Courthouse in downtown Seattle.
  • Regional Justice Center in Kent.
  • Children and Family Justice Center near Seattle University
  • Harborview, for involuntary treatment.
 
Judge Rogers said the King County court system is funded 100% by the taxpayers of King County. He said that marriage dissolutions have not increased in King County, even as the population has surged over the last decade. Violent crime and assaults, however, have increased by 100%.
 
Incarcerations
Judge Rogers said that a major drug crisis has been gripping the country and King County for the last three decades. He said it started with crack wars during the 1980s.
 
“Don’t call this a homeless crisis," said Rogers, "Yes, there are many homeless people in our area, and we should be taking care of them. Many are the working poor. Most of the people we see around the courthouse and I see it where I live, which is in the University District near the UW, are drug addicts.”
 
He then went on to talk about crime prevention techniques utilized during different times in history.  Prohibition in the 1920s and the drug crisis of the latter part of the 20th century were similar in terms of the surge in violence. During prohibition, however, Washington State didn’t suffer from a great deal of violence.  Guns were not used but fast boats and some well-heeled backers helped the cause of bootlegging in this state.
 
When the crack drug wars began to escalate in the 1980s, however, so did crime and violence.
 
  • Murders went from 8,000 to 24,0000.
  • Assaults went from 150,000 to over 1.1 million.
  • Rapes increased to very high levels.  Some believe that the reporting of rape was more welcomed by prosecutors around this time.   
In 1973 there were 200,000 people in prison in the United States.   By 2009 the prison population stood at 1.5 million. Blacks have been incarcerated at six time the rate of whites.
 
During the 1990s, crime dropped significantly.  Some theories for why this happened include aging baby boomers, better policing, and incarceration. Crazier theories like cell phone use by drug dealers, happy pills, and the decline in leaded gasoline may have also contributed to the decline.
 
Judge Rogers said that poverty rates did not increase the crime rates during this period.
 
One consensus has developed between conservatives and liberals.  There is a strong movement on both sides against incarcerating so many people for non-violent crimes.
 
Some facts and opinions from Judge Rogers
  • King County has the lowest incarceration rate in the nation.
  • During the drug wars, we incarcerated everyone.  Now we are not incarcerating anyone.
  • King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg is not charging people for personal felony drug possession.
  • 75% of the prison population in Washington state are for violent offenders. 6% are for drug offenders.  
  • King County has a low violence rate but the highest property crime rate in the U.S.
  • 75% of the mentally ill are drug-induced.
  • The pendulum for prosecuting drug crimes has swung from one extreme to the other. Judges need a wide latitude as to whether to incarcerate someone for a crime or recommend treatment.
 
Q & A
Judge Rogers was asked how his service in the Peace Corps may have prepared him for becoming a judge. He said that getting to know people from different cultures helped a great deal. When asked about what he thought about privately financed prisons, he said he didn’t have enough information to comment. He did say that he didn’t think Washington state would ever head in this direction.
 
Opinion from your Totem Reporter: The Q & A session with Judge Rogers was particularly strong and thorough.  I suggest you watch the video when it comes out on Friday afternoon.      

To begin the meeting, President Kim called the Seattle #4 Rotary Club to order at 12:30 p.m. on October 16, 2019, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Downtown Seattle.
 
Howard Crabtree (voice) and Ken Grant (piano) led the Rotary Club in the singing of My Country, ‘Tis of Thee.
 
Joel Paget led with the inspiration for the day. He said that the speaker, Superior Court Judge Jim Rogers, had excellent training in his preparation for becoming a judge.  He had two children around the same age. They were both always right.        
 
President Kim then acknowledged guests and visiting Rotarians.
 
Mark Wright announced that Seattle Rotarians are invited to Seattle World Polio Day Celebration at the Bill & Melinda Gates Discovery Center, 440 5th Ave, N. Seattle, on
October 24th, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. An RSVP is required.  Visit the Seattle Rotary Club web site for more details.  
 
President Kim then asked each table to discuss what role the Seattle Rotary Club can play in improving social justice while adhering to the Rotary 4-Way Test. Each table discussed various approaches for 12 minutes.  The results of the sessions will be released at a future meeting.
 
Thank you Totem Reporter Paul Casey.
 
Media Sponsors