Goal IV - Quality of Justice and Service to the Public
Judicial Council
- Judicial Council Meetings
- Judicial Council Members
- Advisory Bodies
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The Judicial Branch Strategic Plan
- Guiding Principles
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Branch Goals
- Goal I: Access, Fairness, Diversity, and Inclusion
- Goal II: Independence and Accountability
- Goal III - Modernization of Management and Administration
- Goal IV - Quality of Justice and Service to the Public
- Goal V - Education for Branchwide Professional Excellence
- Goal VI - Branchwide Infrastructure for Service Excellence
- Goal VII. Adequate, Stable, and Predictable Funding for a Fully Functioning Branch
- Judicial Council Staff
- Judicial Council Resources
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 user 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 and understandable.
Overview
California's judicial branch is committed to providing quality justice to an increasingly diverse society. Many court users are poor; some are not fluent in English. Many more are unfamiliar with the scope, processes, and procedures of the American legal system. Increasingly, court users and the public look to the courts to do more than resolve legal matters and dispose of cases-they expect courts to offer programs and services that will help resolve underlying problems.
Key to meeting these challenges and maintaining the public's trust and confidence is ensuring that court procedures and processes are fair and understandable. This requires a continued branchwide commitment to excellence in public service and to education and training. Employing community outreach and other means to increase the public's basic understanding of the courts and the judicial branch must also remain a high priority. To foster and retain the respect, trust, and confidence of its diverse constituencies, the judicial branch must continue to anticipate and respond to these and other challenges.
For policy details, please see the complete Judicial Branch Strategic Plan.
Graphic version | Text only version
Recommended Best Practices
- Maintain a branchwide culture that fosters excellence in public service by building strong working relationships with communities, law and justice system partners, and other state and local leaders.
- Collect, evaluate, and respond to public input about court programs and services; provide reports that show how court programs and services address local and branchwide strategic goals.
- Provide services that meet the needs of all court users and that promote social and cultural sensitivity and inclusion, and a better understanding of court orders, procedures, and processes.
- Promote the use of innovative and effective problem-solving programs and practices that are consistent with and support the mission of the judicial branch.
- Provide necessary resources to all courts—particularly high-volume courts such as traffic, small claims, juvenile dependency, and family—and support the branchwide implementation of effective practices to enhance procedural fairness and reduce the time and expense of court proceedings.
- Support and expand the use of successful dispute resolution programs.
- Improve the quality of jury service, including compliance with summonses and a heightened awareness of the civic responsibility for jury service; work to achieve a fair cross-section of the community in jury panels.
- Collaborate with justice system partners and community stakeholders to identify and promote programs that further the interests of all court users