November 2009

Justice Is the Business of Government

by Attorney General Rob McKenna

“The administration of justice is the firmest pillar of government.”
— George Washington, letter to Edmund Randolph, 1789

As the state, counties, and courts continue to struggle through tough budget times, criminals do not go on furloughs. Child abuse does not revert to a four-day work week. We can’t defer family conflict until the budget allows. We can’t freeze foreclosures and evictions at a previous year’s budget. Even in the face of a poor economy, government must protect people’s constitutional rights, regardless of the expense.

Whether we serve in the judicial, legislative, or executive branch, public servants across all branches of government are in the same business: administering justice to those we serve.

Government promotes justice in society in many ways: through our criminal and civil justice systems, through administrative means, and through the provision of public goods and services to benefit society.

The Justice in Jeopardy Initiative made substantial progress in restructuring funding for trial courts, criminal indigent defense, and parent dependency representation by encouraging the state to assume a more equitable share of the costs formerly shouldered almost entirely by local government. Legislators also created the Office of Civil Legal Aid within the judicial branch to ensure fair access to the civil justice system for the poor.

As our state works together to prioritize limited resources, protecting government’s ability to effectively administer justice in our society should be a guiding principle for our budget-writers and policymakers.

Consider Washington’s criminal justice system. Crime victims and their families rely on well-trained law enforcement and investigators, as well as professional prosecutors. The accused must have constitutionally effective, standards-based defense, consistent with the promise of Gideon v. Wainwright. Society as a whole expects a strong and healthy judicial structure and an effective corrections system, providing for deterrence, treatment, and rehabilitation.

Similarly, our civil justice system serves society by resolving family disputes and keeping children safe; enforcing property, contractual, and consumer rights; and providing a means to protect constitutional rights.

Protecting children from abuse and neglect is a prime example of the complex network of government and legal servants working together to provide justice. Assistant attorneys general all across the state work diligently to ensure the best interests of children through their representation of Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) in matters involving parents accused of child abuse or neglect. These complex and heartbreaking cases consume the greatest number of resources at the Attorney General’s Office.

As part of the Justice in Jeopardy Initiative, legislators provided new funds for guardians ad litem for children, and for 100 percent of the cost of parental representation across two-thirds of the state. In the past, the Legislature also has granted the Attorney General’s Office additional resources to address increasing caseloads and policy initiatives. Having balanced representation on both sides of the case helps our courts as they make decisions to return children to safer homes or gain new permanent homes.

The Attorney General’s Office continues to work with our client, DSHS, and the courts to improve how we protect children from abuse and neglect. Recently, the Attorney General’s Office worked with Spokane County Superior Court judges and commissioners as that court completely changed the way these cases are handled. Judges, defense attorneys, assistant attorneys general, social and health service case workers, treatment providers, and guardians ad litem work together as a team throughout the life of a child-abuse or neglect case. The court assigns a team to each judge or commissioner’s caseload.

By increasing the consistency of the players involved, this teaming approach has made a positive difference in how child-abuse and neglect cases are handled, resulting overall in better outcomes for children. The Spokane County Court is monitoring these outcomes and notes that there are a significant number of children who return home and return home early. This approach also creates efficiencies for the social workers, guardians ad litem, assistant attorneys general, defense attorneys, and judges handling these cases.

Outside the traditional civil and criminal justice system, government wields a great deal of its power to administer justice though regulation. The Legislature assigns government a broad regulatory role through state law. Government then fleshes that law out through rules and regulation or through city and county ordinances.

Government’s administrative role helps the public by ensuring environmental protection; public health and safety; and safe, quality construction. In this way, government provides justice for many through the regulation of others. The regulated may also provide input into agency rules or dispute those rules through administrative processes and the courts.

Our administrative system provides greater certainty and justice for all involved by ensuring clear guidelines rather than relying on an arbitrary system.

Finally, government ensures justice through the provision of public goods and services such as education, temporary assistance to needy families (TANF), roads, ports, public transit, sewer, and other shared infrastructure and resources like science and technological research. These services and infrastructure would likely not exist — at least not for all to enjoy — were it not for the government pooling collective resources to provide the judicious development of these services and structures.

Achieving all of these forms of justice requires agencies and organizations across the three branches of government to work together while retaining the separation of powers envisioned by our forefathers. As the economy continues to lag, the individual courts, judicial branch agencies, and all state government must become more creative in the ways we work to achieve justice for the people we serve.

During the 2009 legislative session, both the courts and the Attorney General’s Office faced significant budget challenges. Though we all took cuts, our legislators wisely recognized the importance of retaining resources necessary to ensure justice in our state. These challenges remain as our state continues its work to climb out of this recession.

As the work of government and the courts increases, we must work together creatively to streamline our resources and maximize efficiencies in an attempt to do more with less.

At the same time, the legal community as a whole benefits from reminding budget-writers and policymakers that justice is the foundation of our society and the most important business of government. 

Rob McKenna is the Washington state attorney general.