Justice To Host State Domestic Abuse Summit State’s First Woman On High Court Promises To Bring Agencies Together To Better Protect Battered Women

Calling domestic violence a “dreadful, dreadful disease that is infesting our society,” Washington Supreme Court Chief Justice Barbara Durham unveiled plans Saturday to host a statewide summit on the issue.

Durham said a “coordinated effort” is needed to better protect thousands of battered women, improve support services and rehabilitate abusive mates.

“Something really horrible is going on out there,” she said.

Durham was the keynote speaker at a daylong Spokane conference on domestic violence hosted by Gonzaga Law School.

About 130 people attended workshops at the Ridpath Hotel.

Durham, 52, said she first encountered the horrors of domestic abuse 25 years ago, when she was a King County deputy prosecutor.

She recounted the case of a man who repeatedly beat his wife and sexually abused his daughter.

A jury, however, acquitted him of criminal charges.

Six months later, the woman shot and killed her tormentor in self-defense.

Durham called the case “my great awakening.”

Sworn in last month as the high court’s first female chief justice, Durham pledged to help coordinate domestic-violence programs among the three branches of government.

The summit, to be held this fall in Olympia, is designed to bring together law enforcement and social service agencies, legislators, judges and victim advocates to exchange information and encourage innovation.

Over the past five years, Durham said the number of domestic-violence charges filed in Washington courts has quadrupled.

“No other type of case has been increasing more dramatically,” she said.

In recent weeks, Durham has made it clear that change will be the byword for her court.

She has outlined plans for changing the way judges are selected, downsizing the Supreme Court and accelerating the processing of appeals.