Principle Module
Printed on: Apr 18, 2024
While the specific functions court leaders perform and the environments in which they work varies significantly, fundamental and enduring principles serve as the foundation for the profession. Competencies in this module outline those principles.
Public Trust and Confidence
Relevance
Maintaining the public’s trust and confidence in the courts is integral to the credibility of the judicial branch. This trust cannot be assumed. The court must establish and nurture public trust through its core responsibility of resolving disputes. The court process must not only be just, it must-have the appearance of being just. Public perceptions of the court system are largely formed by the experiences of individual parties in individual cases, all looking to the court for prompt and fair resolution of their disputes. Guided by the principles of procedural fairness, courts can enhance public trust and confidence by treating every party — plaintiffs, victims and defendants alike — with dignity and respect, and explaining the court process and court rulings in a timely matter. Trust and confidence are further enhanced through the transparent and consistent application of court procedures, timely resolution of court cases and providing public information regarding the court processes, court services and mechanisms for accessing them.
Court leaders help promote and maintain public trust and confidence by creating organizational cultures that foster integrity, transparency and accountability for court processes and operations.
Application
The degree to which the judicial branch can promote the rule of law and protect individual rights is, in large part, determined by the respect of the public for its authority. As noted above, court leaders should strive to promote public trust and confidence in courts by creating and promoting an organizational culture that fosters integrity, transparency and accountability for all court processes and proceedings.
Ensuring public trust and confidence in the court, regardless of the court’s jurisdiction and/or environment in which it functions, requires all court leaders to carry out their function(s) in a manner that promotes the following:
- On-going provision of information to the public to ensure understanding of the court process, services available and methods for accessing them.
- Responsiveness to the multiple cultures, languages and special populations who utilize court services, including but not limited to individuals with disabilities, and those with limited literacy or English proficiency.
- Easily accessible assistance for self-represented litigants to help them navigate the judicial process. 1
- Regular reports to the public summarizing court workload and relevant measures relating to the efficiency and fairness with which it has been handled.
Purposes and Responsibilities
Relevance
The most fundamental aspect of court leadership is an understanding of the purposes and responsibilities of the court and providing the leadership to ensure that these continuously guide court operations, policies, and procedures. Pursuant to the judicial authority granted in the United States Constitution and the constitutions of states and territories and applicable laws, the primary responsibility of the judicial branch is to provide an impartial forum for the resolution of disputes. This ensures the rule of law and protection of individual rights. Over time, this fundamental responsibility of the judicial branch has been expanded to encompass other areas of importance, including but not limited to the following:
- Ensuring access to the court process for all who seek it.
- Managing the business of the court in a manner that promotes efficiency, transparency and the opportunity for fair and timely disposition of the cases filed.
- Exercising leadership among other justice-related agencies to develop strategies that join the interests of all three branches of government, recognizing that the court cannot operate in isolation, while, at the same time, must maintain its independence.
The longstanding and widely accepted “purposes of courts” in carrying out these responsibilities are the following: 2
- To promote justice in individual cases.
- To ensure the public perceptions of justice in individual cases.
- To provide an impartial forum for the resolution of legal disputes.
- To protect individuals against the arbitrary use of governmental power.
- To provide for a formal record of legal status.
- To deter criminal behavior.
- To rehabilitate individuals convicted of crime.
- To provide for the separation of convicted individuals from society where necessary.
Over time, these fundamental purposes of the courts expanded to include other areas of emphasis, including the following:
- To protect vulnerable populations — abused and neglected children and adults, from the abuse of power in any form.
- To promote coordination with justice, public health, social service and other agencies to address common problems underlying the court’s criminal and civil caseload, including substance use and mental health.
These fundamental purposes and responsibilities of courts apply regardless of the specific jurisdiction in which a court functions and provide both the philosophical and legal framework for the daily work of all court leaders. They also delineate the essential differences between the role court leaders and those professionals who work in other public sector entities.
Purposes and responsibilities of courts should never be confused with efficiency or even the constitutional means of the separation of powers, judicial independence, and the inherent powers of the courts. Courts exist to do justice, to guarantee liberty, to enhance social order, to resolve disputes, to maintain rule of law, to provide for equal protection, and to ensure due process of law. They exist so the equality of individuals and the government is reality rather than empty rhetoric.
Application
Carrying out the fundamental purposes and responsibilities of a court requires all court leaders, regardless of their specific position, to ensure their respective courts:
- Protect fundamental constitutional and legal rights and promote the rule of law.
- Provide access to all who seek court intervention.
- Support the timely and fair disposition of all cases.
Recognizing that court leaders perform diverse functions in an array of environments, the following are goals that court professionals should aspire to meet:
- Ensure the court’s mission and vision statements support the fundamental purposes and responsibilities of courts.
- Provide education on the purposes and responsibilities of the court for court staff.
- Promote the independence of the judiciary through its budgeting process and independent policy-making functions.
End Notes
Notes:
- “There is a “unity of interest between the courts and the public with respect to assistance for self-represented litigants. Lack of legal assistance is clearly an enormous barrier for the public. It also creates a structural gap for courts, which are designed to work with litigants who are represented by attorneys. Managing cases involving self-represented litigants is a daily business event at every level of court operations — from filing through calendaring, records, management and courtroom hearings.” “Statewide Action Plan for Serving Self-Represented Litigants,” Judicial Conference of California, February 27, 2013. See also: Core Competency: Ensuring Performance of Other Essential Components. ↩
- Articulated by Professor Ernest Friesen, first Director of the Institute for Court Management (ICM). ↩
© 2024 National Association for Court Management.