2. ACTION ITEMS (Michael Zimmerman)

• Retreat Outcomes: Retreat went well, recognize high enthusiasm, additional buy-in
• Annual Report: Letter & disc sent to each Agency director. Please respond by September 16, 2002. These Agency Response documents will be used for the writing of the Annual Report and will actually be included in the report as appendices.

The Annual Report is anticipated to look like:

Executive Summary

Highlights of systemwide and agency implementation

Description of Subcommittees and current Commission work

Plans for 2003

Appendices

The timeline for completion is estimated to be:

09/16/02 Agency Response documents due

Writing and assembly of Annual Report by Subcommittee

11/15/02 Draft of Report to Commission members for comment

12/01/02 Submissions for changes due

12/31/02 Final Report completed

01/01/03 Current Leadership presents report

• Leadership 2002: Nominations from the Operations Committee will be forwarded at the September 25, 2002 Commission meeting.

3. PRESENTATION ON THE SALT LAKE LEGAL DEFENDER ASSOCIATION IMPLEMENTATION EFFORTS (David Biggs):

David Biggs (Commission member, Associate Director of SLLDA) and Vivian Patterson (Assistant to the Director & Associate Director, SLLDA) gave a PowerPoint Presentation describing SLLDA and its Task Force implementation process. Please refer to the hard copy in your meeting materials.

Noted from the PowerPoint presentation:

• SLLDA is 40 yrs old
• Public Defense attorneys outside of the Wasatch Front are all part-time and on yearly contracts. Wasatch Front public defenders are full-time.
• The Board does not consist solely of attorneys. In fact, the majority are not attorneys.
• At SLLDA, the caseload is ~200 cases/attorney. A national organization states that a legal defender should not have more than 100 cases.
• They are currently working on judicial concerns of the difficulty in reaching (connecting with) public defense attorneys
• In SLC, 85% of those charged with criminal felonies use SLLDA. Shows correlation between crime & socio-economic status
• Questions surrounded plea bargaining rates; public v private comparisons; complaint processes; quality assurance; perceptions, myths, and realities; many questions about the Indigent Defense Review Council recommendation #9 in Research section.

• Conclusion
• Racial and Ethnic fairness seems to go hand-in-hand with Legal Defenders. It is a belief system that attracts the employees, not money. SLLDA has a core of attorneys with 20+ years tenure.

4. PRESENTATION ON THE STATEWIDE ASSOCIATION OF PUBLIC ATTORNEYS IMPLEMENTATION EFFORTS (Paul Boyden):

Paul Boyden (Commission member, Executive Director of SWAP) presented a description of SWAP and its Task Force implementation process. Please refer to the Agency Response document in your meeting materials.

Noted from the presentation:

• Prosecuting attorneys have concern about those cases that they never see. For instance, the misdemeanor cases, where no attorneys are involved/present, there is a concern that people of color plead guilty to all counts because it is "the honorable thing to do", unlike those with background knowledge of the legal system and politics. Concern is with individual reactions to the system.
• IDRC: state funding will not be there. There would be more success at the local level where attorneys have connections with council members. County attorneys are the strongest link to maintain quality.
• Funding is available for 'unusual prosecution costs', which can pay for prosecution costs throughout the state
• SWAP is based in the District Attorneys' Offices, much of Paul's position consists of lobbying and serving on various committees throughout the Courts.
• SWAP has put extensive time and effort into the Hate Crimes laws. There is a tendency to mix up goals with means. High opposition, considered to be due to the inclusion of gays/ lesbians in the protected classes. However, the legislation must be inclusive to be effective and not hypocritical. Accepting one form of discrimination validates all inequality.
• SWAP has formed a Racial and Ethnic Fairness Committee that continues to work on recruitment, retention, and training.
• Issues confronted by SWAP: how to do the research, who will do it, and what will we do with the results? All are impacted by budget and priority realities.
• Questions surrounded the IDRC, Hate Crimes legislation

5. ANNOUNCEMENTS (Michael Zimmerman)

• Keith Hamilton has requested that members try to attend a Board Hearing prior to the September meeting. If you attend hearings conducted by Keith, please contact him prior. He will give you background information on the individuals to give you a clearer idea of the full process for Board members.
• Commission Subcommittees will report progress at each Operations Committee meeting.

• Research Subcommittee met prior to this meeting
• Outreach/Employment Recruitment Subcommittee conducted its first Focus Group following this meeting. Special thank you to the volunteer participants, as well as the Utah Sheriff's Association and the Department of Public Safety for their coordination assistance.
• Annual Report Subcommittee met following this meeting
• Community Involvement Subcommittee meets 09/03/02
• Indigent Defense Subcommittee met 08/27/02

• John Adams and the Utah State Bar announced the Dialogue on Freedom program and handed out copies of the educational supplement. John asks that you spread the word and encourage your colleagues and constituents to participate. Please refer to your email for more information (sent 08/28/02)
• Joan Smith and the National Conference for Community and Justice handed out fliers for the Walk and Concert for Freedom, Diversity and Remembrance (co-sponsored by Salt Lake City). Joan asks that you spread the word and encourage your colleagues and constituents to participate. Please refer to your email for more information (sent 08/28/02)

6. NEXT MEETING DETAILS

• The next Commission meeting will be on Wednesday September 25, 2002
• 11:30am - 1:00pm
• at the Law & Justice Center
• Highlighting and hosted by the Board of Pardons and Parole

7. ADJOURNMENT: (Michael Zimmerman)

• There being no further business to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 1:15p.m.
• Special thank you to David Biggs and Vivian Patterson for their hospitality and informative presentation.