Goal I: Access, Fairness, Diversity, and Inclusion
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
California’s judicial branch serves an increasingly diverse population. The branch must work to remove all barriers to access and fairness by being responsive to the state’s cultural, ethnic, socioeconomic, linguistic, physical, gender, sexual orientation, and age diversities, and to all people as a whole. Branch efforts in this regard must include ensuring that the courts are free from both bias and the appearance of bias, meeting the needs of increasing numbers of self-represented litigants, demonstrating inclusion and remaining receptive to the needs of all branch constituents, ensuring that court procedures are fair and understandable, and providing socially and culturally responsive programs and services. Finding effective strategies for removing barriers in all case types will require a continued branchwide commitment to innovation, excellence in public service, and strong leadership at local and state levels.
In addition, to serve the people of California effectively, public servants in the judicial branch should be representative of the diversity of the state's population and continue efforts to enhance public trust and confidence by working with other branches of government toward a strongly diverse judiciary.
For policy details, please see the complete Judicial Branch Strategic Plan.
Graphic version | Text only version
Recommended Best Practices
- Identify and work to eliminate all barriers to access to judicial branch programs and services.
- Broaden and facilitate access to, understanding of, and trust and confidence in the judicial branch and court-connected programs and services for all persons and entities served by the judicial branch.
- Work to prevent bias, and the appearance of bias in the judicial branch and its operations.
- Work to achieve procedural fairness in all types of cases.
- Work with justice system partners to increase access to legal assistance.
- Collaborate with other branches of government and justice system partners to identify, recruit, and retain highly qualified appellate court justices, trial court judges, commissioners, referees, and other members of the judicial branch workforce, who reflect the state’s diversity.
- Collaborate with law schools, the State Bar, local bar associations, and specialty bars to achieve greater diversity in the legal profession.
- Continue to promote broad diversity among the membership of the Judicial Council of California and its advisory committees, task forces, and working groups in order to ensure diverse perspectives and an inclusive environment.
- Promote respectful interaction and a dignified experience for court users and employees of the judicial branch.
- Implement, enhance, and expand multilingual and culturally and socially responsive programs, including educational programming, self-help centers, and interpreter services.
- Ensure that judicial branch facilities are accessible to all court users and accommodate the needs of persons with disabilities.
- Increase public access to court information and services.