The Strategic Plan for California’s Judicial Branch
Read the Introduction
Guiding Principles
The Judicial Council of California provides leadership in the judicial branch by using a set of guiding principles, while working to improve the future of the judicial branch by overcoming common fundamental challenges.
Branch Goals
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Access, Fairness, Diversity, and Inclusion
California’s courts will treat everyone in a fair and just manner. All persons will have equal access to the courts and court proceedings and programs. Court procedures will be fair and understandable to court users. Members of the judicial branch community will strive to understand and be responsive to the needs of court users from diverse cultural and social backgrounds. The makeup of California’s judicial branch will reflect the diversity of the state’s residents. The judicial branch will leverage diversity to foster an inclusive court system in which all individuals are—and feel—respected and engaged, and their contributions are valued.
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Independence and Accountability
The judiciary must maintain its status as an independent, separate, and co-equal branch of government. The independence of judicial decision making will be protected in order to preserve the rule of law and ensure the fair, impartial, and efficient delivery of justice. The judiciary will unify in its advocacy for resources and policies that support and protect independent and impartial judicial decision making in accordance with the constitution and the law. The branch will maintain the highest standards of accountability for its use of public resources and adherence to its statutory and constitutional mandates.
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Modernization of Management and Administration
Justice will be administered by a highly qualified judicial and executive leadership team in a fair, timely, efficient, and effective manner by using modern management practices that implement and sustain innovative ideas and effective practices.
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Quality of Justice and Service to the Public
The judicial branch will deliver the highest quality of justice and service to the public. In order to remain responsive to the varying needs of diverse court users, the judicial branch will work with branch constituencies to better ascertain court users’ needs and priorities. The branch will also employ community outreach to provide information about the judicial branch to the public, and effect programs and strategies to ensure that court procedures and processes are fair, inclusive, and understandable.
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Education for Branchwide Professional Excellence
High-quality education and professional development will be provided to enhance the ability of all individuals serving in the judicial branch to achieve high standards of professionalism, ethics, and performance. Judicial branch personnel will have access to the resources and training necessary to meet the diverse needs of the public and to enhance trust and confidence in the courts.
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Branchwide Infrastructure for Service Excellence
The judicial branch will enhance the quality of justice by providing an administrative, technological, and physical infrastructure that supports and meets the needs of the public, the branch, and its justice system and community partners, and that ensures business continuity.
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Adequate, Stable, and Predictable Funding for a Fully Functioning Branch
The judicial branch will advocate for investment in the justice system of California to preserve access to justice for all Californians, the judicial branch must make every effort to achieve greater financial independence and flexibility for funding the court system at a level of sufficiency.