In Recognition of Chief Judge Eric T. Washington, District of Columbia Court of Appeals
Resolution 4 In Recognition of Chief Judge Eric T. Washington, District of Columbia Court of Appeals
WHEREAS, Chief Judge Eric T. Washington has served as vice-chair or chair of the Access, Fairness and Public Trust Committee since its first meeting in 2010; and
WHEREAS, under Chief Judge Washington's leadership, the Access, Fairness and Public Trust Committee has served as a national voice for numerous critical issues, such as expanding civil legal aid, enhancing the availability of high-quality language access services, improving services for self-represented litigants, reinforcing state court leadership to address both explicit and implicit bias within the court system, encouraging the creation of access to justice commissions, engaging marginalized and disenfranchised communities to ensure equal access to justice for all, and encouraging the development of technology solutions to address access and fairness issues; and
WHEREAS, the Committee's success in these areas is due in large part to Chief Judge Washington's willingness to meet with funders who supported the Committee's efforts and to present at meetings of critical stakeholders such as the Conference of Chief Justices, the Conference of State Court Administrators, the National Consortium on Race and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts, the ABA's State Access to Justice Chairs, and the Self-Represented Litigation Network who implemented the Committee's recommendations; and
WHEREAS, Chief Judge Washington has worked tirelessly and selflessly to champion the work of the Committee; and
WHEREAS, Chief Judge Washington is retiring as Chief Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals in March of 2017;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Conference of Chief Justices expresses its deep gratitude to Chief Judge Eric T. Washington for his leadership of the Access, Fairness and Public Trust Committee and his unfailing commitment and outstanding contributions to ensure access to justice for all who come before state courts.
Adopted as proposed by the CCJ/COSCA Access, Fairness and Public Trust Committee at the Conference of Chief Justices Midyear Meeting on February 1, 2017.