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Major Program Outcomes, 2004 - 2009

Program Outcome Summary

• Published two major policy reform reports.
• Testified three times before DC Council committees.
• Held five public programs.
• Is currently undertaking one major initiative.

2004

Reports Published Summary

• Superior Court Probate Division report, with the Bar Association of DC. The report focused on the system for protecting the well-being and finances of the city's incapacitated adult wards.
• Board: Gordon Forester, Bill Davis, Paul Pearlstein, and Suzanne Richards.

Public Forums Held

• Co-sponsored with the Superior Court four town hall meetings to gather the opinions of DC residents from across the city about the court and the broader justice system.

Testimony Presented

• To the D.C. Courts electronic access committee regarding proposed rules on electronic access to case records. Our testimony was supportive of the proposed rules, as far as they went, but urged for quick application to all court divisions, better options for remote access, among other recommendations.
• Board: Carol Melamed, Chair, and Bill Carter, David Cynamon, Richard Nettler and Paul Pearlstein.

2005

Testimony Presented

• To the D.C. Courts regarding proposed rules on electronic access to probate case records.
• Carol Melamed, Chair, and Bill Carter, David Cynamon, Richard Nettler and Paul Pearlstein.

2006

Testimony Presented

• Jury Trial Improvements Act of 2006 before the DC Council Judiciary Committee. CCE's testimony offered qualified support for the bill, with concerns expressed about the provision to establish a Lengthy Trial Fund and the provision to reduce the number of peremptory challenges from 10 to 3 for felony matters. CCE expressed concerns that the Lengthy Trial Fund would possibly impose an unfunded mandate on the court. CCE also recommended that the DC Council address peremptory challenge reductions only after the DC Superior Court had expanded "for cause" strikes of prospective jurors during voir dire.
• Board: David Cynamon, Richard Nettler.

2007

Forums Held

• DC Third Branch public symposium explored a variety of issues related to how the DC Courts are organized, governed, and funded; how judges are appointed; and how local DC crimes are prosecuted. The symposium sought feedback on the draft essays produced by CCE's Third Branch project, and that feedback informed the final versions of the project's essays. The event was co-sponsored and hosted by UDC-David A. Clarke School of Law, and it drew a highly engaged audience of 95, in addition to UDC law students, for the full day of panel presentations and discussions.
• Board: John Nields and Tim May, project co-Chairs; Jim Bishop, Steve Harland, Peter Kolker, Charles Miller, Jim Nathanson, and Steven Schneebaum, committee members; and symposium participants/attendees: Caryl Bernstein, John Clark, Sam Harahan, Richard Hoffman, Judge Craig Iscoe, Clifford Keenan, Ann Keep, Judge Noel Kramer, Julia Matthews, Jim Mercurio, Fritz Mulhauser, Rodney Page, Michael Rogers, Brian Schwalb, John Steren, and Arabella Teal.
• Toward a Civil Gideon? Improving Access to Justice in the District of Columbia. A program that highlighted the persistent legal needs of low income people in the District of Columbia and the systemic attempts to address these needs.
• Board: David Cynamon, Chair, and Bill Carter, Barbara Johnson, Carolyn Lerner, Michelle Parfitt.
• DC Business and Courts targeted discussion with business associations regarding commercial litigation perspectives.

2008

Reports Published

• District of Columbia Democracy and the Third Branch of Government, in the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law published the Winter 2008 edition of its law review. The content of the law review, titled, is the work product of CCE's 2007 DC Third Branch project.
• Board: John Nields and Tim May, project co-Chairs; Steven Schneebaum, Charles Miller, and Peter Kolker, essay authors; and Jim Bishop, Steve Harlan, and Jim Nathanson, committee members.

Forums Held

• DC Business and Courts roundtable discussion between in-house counsel and outside counsel on the state of commercial litigation in DC.

2009

Ongoing Projects

• The Business & Courts Project committee developed a comprehensive work plan to examine the commercial litigation process in DC. The committee plans to gather information from five key perspectives, which will be synthesized later into a policy report and recommendations. Those perspectives include, commercial litigators, business associations, the court, and other jurisdictions considered to have model commercial litigation practice.
• Board: Marc Sherman, Chair, Bruce Berger, David Cynamon, Leslye Givarz, Roy Goldberg, Jay Hulme, Barbara Johnson, Jim Lee, Curtis Lu, Pat McGlone, John Oberdorfer, Rodney Page, Tracy Roman, Jim Sadowski, Brian Schwalb, and Jim Tuite.

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