 Bill Owens |
Governor's Task Force on
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Task Force Co-Chairs and Governor's CounselRebecca A. Koppes Conway, Esq. - Co-Chair |
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Governor's Task Force on Civil Justice ReformMinutes of Meeting Pursuant to a notice dated November 3, 1999, from Governor Bill Owens, a meeting of all members of the Governor's Task Force on Civil Justice Reform was convened at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Novembern10, 1999, in the conference room of the Colorado Bar Association CLE at 1900 Grant Street, Denver, Colorado. Present in person or by telephone were-
Absent were-- --Committee Co-Chairs--
--Members--
Rebecca Koppes Conway and Timothy Tymkovich co-chaired the meeting, and Anthony van Westrum kept the minutes. The following materials were distributed to the attendees during the meeting—
Ms. Koppes Conway convened the meeting with a welcome and an introduction of Troy Eid, the Governor's Counsel. Mr. Eid informed the members that the Governor was this day in Japan, having jokingly commented to Mr. Eid before he departed that, with so many lawyers in one room, he might be better off in a distant country. But Mr. Eid quickly noted that, in fact, the Governor was very appreciative that so many people would dedicate their services to the cause of civil justice reform. Mr. Eid also introduced the Governor's Deputy Counsel, Britt Weygandt, to the group. Mr. Eid pointed out that copies of the Governor's Executive Orders B 011 99 and A 211 99 were included in the package of materials that had been distributed to the meeting, and that Order B 011 99 contained the Governor's charge to the Task Force regarding civil justice reform. Mr. Eid noted that there is strong public interest in Colorado in such reform and that the Governor's personal interest has been evident from the beginning of his administration; indeed, he referred to the matter in his first State of the State address. Mr. Eid stated the Governor's belief that the matter of civil justice reform could be best addressed by a group comprising a number of different disciplines, both from within and outside the legal profession. The hope is that the Task Force can challenge "conventional wisdom" in its work; accordingly, the membership includes not only lawyers with differing specialities but also non-lawyers with specialities in finance, business, and other areas. Mr. Eid referred again to Order B 011 99 for five specific areas of the Governor's charge: alternative dispute resolution, the administrative law system within the Executive Branch, the use of magistrates in the civil justice system, the appearance of parties pro se and the attendant impact on the court system, and the concept of a business court. Each of these areas should be susceptible to action by the Governor, whether by way of executive order, legislative package for consideration by the General Assembly, or proposal to the Judiciary. The expectation is that the Task Force can create and bring new ideas to bear in these areas. Mr. Eid noted that there is a good window of opportunity available to the Task Force, consisting of the next seven or eight months. But he and the Governor are respectful of the time demands placed upon the volunteer members, and he noted that he and Britt Weygandt are available to assist the Task Force in its efforts. He concluded his opening remarks with a welcome and thanks. Ms. Koppes Conway then requested the attending individuals to introduce themselves to the meeting, and they did so. Ms. Koppes Conway specifically noted that each of the members was participating as a volunteer and as an individual, not as a representative of a specific constituency. She referred to the memo that she and Mr. Tymkovich authored and included in the package of materials that were distributed to the members, and to the specific rules that it contained:
In particular, all viewpoints and expressions can only be the informal viewpoints and expressions of the individual members of the Task Force until it speaks through the final report to the Governor. Accordingly, members should be respectful of the differences that may arise among them and must be aware that only the two co-chairs of the Task Force can speak officially for the Task Force. Ms. Koppes Conway noted that a master list of names, addresses, and telephone numbers was being developed, and she requested that corrections be made as needed. Ms. Koppes Conway noted that the Governor's five specific areas of charge have been reflected in the five Committees of the Task Force, for which co-chairs have been appointed. Later in this meeting a break would be taken during which those Committees would have their initial meetings. She commented that she and Mr. Tymkovich were counting on the assistance of the Committee chairs and members. She noted that some members might wish to direct their efforts to areas other than those to which they have been assigned; she asked that they participate as assigned but said that each member was free to work in other areas as well, and that she would welcome anyone who was willing to work doubly hard in that fashion. Ms. Koppes Conway suggested that the Committee co-chairs begin their tasks by identifying four or five specific questions or subject matters upon which their Committee could concentrate its efforts. Ms. Koppes Conway noted that there were no funds available to the Task Force, so that what resources were available would depend entirely on the volunteering of the members. She counseled being imaginative in lieu of spending unavailable funds. She also noted, however, that Mr. Eid, Ms. Weygandt, and their executive secretary, Mara Warren, were available for assistance (although, she cautioned, they also have many other demands upon their time). Returning to basic rules, Ms. Koppes Conway reiterated that no one may speak for the Task Force except through the formal structure of the Task Force. Each member is free to voice his or her personal opinion as he or she may desire, but none may speak officially for the Task Force. She also requested that all press inquiries be directed to herself, to Mr. Tymkovich, or to Mr. Eid. In addition, because nothing can be considered to be a statement, recommendation, or report of the Task Force until the final report is issued, all drafts should be appropriately legended "For Consideration Only" or the like. Ms. Koppes Conway noted that the Colorado Open Meetings Law applied to the Task Force and its Committees, and she pointed out that a copy of that law was attached to the minutes of the October 28, 1999, meeting of the Committee co-chairs, which minutes were included in the package of materials that had been distributed to the members. The schedule for the Task Force includes a period during which an initial draft of the Task Force's report will be exposed for public comment. She anticipated that members of the Task Force would "go on the road" to stimulate such comment. Each Committee was requested to provide an initial draft of its portion of the report by the end of February 2000, so that an exposure draft of the combined final report can be prepared by the first of May 2000 for public hearings. It is hoped that the final report can be delivered to the Governor by September 20, 2000, in advance of the deadline established in Executive Order B 011 99. Ms. Koppes Conway anticipated that the Task Force may receive inquiries from the General Assembly, during the course of the 2000 Session, pertinent to the areas being considered by the Task Force; she requested that such questions be directed to her, Mr. Tymkovich, or Mr. Eid. (She also noted that the Governor may himself raise questions with the Task Force, because of its assembled expertise, as they arose in the course of the year.) Ms. Koppes Conway noted that the package of materials that had been distributed to the members was to have contained a report from the Supreme Court entitled, "Civil Programs in the Judicial Branch." She had hoped that the package would also contain a copy of the Joint Budget Committee's briefing package, but that was not yet available due to printing problems. Those will be provided at a later date. Mr. Tymkovich then reviewed a bit of the history of the Task Force. He noted that he, Ms. Koppes Conway, Mr. Eid, and Ms. Weygandt had been meeting since the spring of the year to prepare for the Task Force. Their goal had been to determine what the Governor wanted to see in the way of civil justice reform and determine what might fairly be delivered by the Task Force. This was done in the context of a new Administration, following the November 1998 elections, and new ideas. Mr. Tymkovich also noted that he was aware that the members of the Task Force have also been thinking about, and have their own ideas for, civil justice reform. He noted that he personally has no pre-conceived ideas about what the Task Force might report but that he hoped the various members will indeed make use of their existing ideas, that they might work their way through the Committee discussions and into the final report as appropriate. Although the civil justice system is surely not "broken," clearly it has flaws and things can be done to make it better. The intention is, however, that the Task Force's recommendations will be of things that can in fact be accomplished pragmatically. He urged that the various Committees cross-pollinate their ideas during the course of the Task Force's work. Mr. Tymkovich noted that, although the Governor's Executive Order B 011 99 lays out well several specific areas for consideration, the Committees should also assume that they can consider other things that have not been mentioned there. By way of example, he mentioned case management. Mr. Tymkovich noted that Anthony van Westrum had been appointed as reporter for the Task Force and that he would attempt to attend as many of the various Committee meetings as possible, in addition to those of the Business Courts Committee to which he was formally assigned. Mr. Tymkovich reiterated Ms. Koppes Conway's note that the Governor's Transition Team had found that focusing on three to five principle questions served well to guide efforts such as those facing the Task Force's Committees, and they had asked the co-chairs to develop such questions. He also said that, over the past six months, he and Ms. Koppes Conway have accumulated various informational items that would be of use to the Committees. And he knew that the Committees themselves would have other information available to them and that they could also generate additional information as needed. Mr. Tymkovich concluded by noting that it would be his task and Ms. Koppes Conway's to steer the Task Force to a good and useful final report to the Governor. Ms. Koppes Conway asked that the various Committees utilize Mr. van Westrum as a clearing house for meeting dates. She also noted that steps were being taken to set up a Web page on the Internet for the Task Force. At this point the meeting of the whole adjourned while the various Committees held organizational meetings. Following those Committee meetings, the whole reconvened and the following Committee meeting dates were announced:
Robert N. Miller, a member of the Task Force, asked why the Committees did not include one on discovery. Ms. Koppes Conway responded that discovery is acknowledged to be a significant issue but is one that is germane to several of the areas upon which Committees have been established. Mr. van Westrum suggested that each of the Committees assign a member to maintain minutes of that Committee's work. The meeting adjourned at approximately 4:45 p.m. No date was fixed for the next meeting of the whole Task Force. Respectfully submitted, Anthony van Westrum Comments or corrections to: |