Speaker's Bureau

The Speaker's Bureau is the creation of the former King County District Court Presiding Judge James Cayce. In 1998, Judge Cayce was a member of the District and Municipal Court Judges Association Diversity Committee.

The Committee planned an educational session for State Judges at their annual meeting entitled "Immigrants in the Courts". The panel of speakers for this presentation consisted of attorneys and educators who had immigrated to the United States. The common theme was the fact that in the countries the panel members had immigrated from there was a great deal of mistrust of the government in general, including the courts and the police. As a result of corruption in their native countries, many immigrants are not willing to trust the courts in this country and do not avail themselves of services our system can provide.

While watching a "dry run" of the presentation, Judge Cayce realized that the courts needed a method of reaching out to not only immigrant communities, but to all communities where there is a distrust of government, courts and police. Therein was born the idea of the Speaker's Bureau.

Traditionally, Judges often speak in their local communities at schools, Rotary, and Chamber of Commerce type functions. The intent of the Speaker's Bureau is to reach out to communities who have not typically had the benefit of judges speaking to them in an informal manner.

Judge Cayce was instrumental in putting together a team of District and Superior Court Judges who are available for Speaker's Bureau engagements. The team focuses on opening communication between the courts and the community, on services provided by the courts and gives people the opportunity to meet elected officials in an informal atmosphere.

The Speaker's Bureau Team has one or more engagements each month. Interested parties should contact the Office of the Presiding Judge at 206-296-3594 to schedule a presentation.

Judge Cayce and former Interpreter Coordinator Chris Zhao were presented copies of "Immigrants in the Courts" by the Editor, Joanne Moore. The District Court Speakers' Bureau is highlighted in the book as an effective way the courts can disseminate information about the U.S. legal system to immigrant communities. The book was published by the University of Washington Press and contains some useful rights forms translated in to a variety of languages. Permission to reproduce the translated documents for distribution to non-English speaking parties is possible by writing the publisher.