Foundation for Washington State Courts Supporting Safety Training Efforts in Rural Counties

May 12, 2018

Judge Sean P. O’Donnell

Chief Criminal Judge

King County Superior Court

Seattle, WA 98104

Dear Judge O’Donnell:

The Foundation for Washington State Courts is pleased to announce that our Board voted in favor of supporting a fundraising effort for active shooter trainings in the rural counties in Washington. Our Board had so much enthusiasm for the project that we also decided to focus our funding on courthouse safety for the next two to three years.

As a non-profit organization, FWSC relies on donations from private sources to fund these important measures. All attorneys are stakeholders in courtroom safety and they all benefit from acting now to make courtrooms more safe versus waiting and hoping that nothing happens or that funding may someday come through in the individual counties for such training. FWSC plans to hold several fundraising events and also solicit donations from attorneys and law firms to help provide the Superior Court Judges across the state the active shooter training that is so desperately needed in counties that lack the means to pay for such training.

We look forward to working cooperatively with the Superior Court Judge’s Association to enhance courthouse safety in our state. We also hope that the King County Bar Association will follow our lead and support these efforts.

Very truly yours,

Ann H. Rosato FWSC President