Promoting Statewide Court and Community Collaboration Initiatives

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Promoting Statewide Court and Community
Collaboration Initiatives

• An educational program based on the
  Community-Focused Courts Development Initiative
  funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance and
  Carried out by the National Center for State
  Courts.

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Court and Community Collaboration

• The Problem Addressed
• There is considerable frustration in the state
  courts and in the communities they are designed
  to serve. The public frequently concludes that
  courts do not respond to community problems. The
  judges feel they cannot adequately resolve the
  problems they face. Moreover, in many sectors,
  there is profound alienation between the court
  and the people they serve.

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Court and Community Collaboration

• The Problem Addressed (cont)
• Recognizing this, some courts have developed
  collaborative programs with the people they
  serve. These collaborations have emerged in
  diverse jurisdictions and take a variety of
  forms, all of which go beyond public education.
  In their own ways, each of these programs aims to
  improve the delivery and administration of
  justice, and to increase public trust.
• Statements, the Advisory Committee to the
  Community-Focused Courts Initiatives

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Court and Community Collaboration

• The philosophy of court and community
  collaboration gives the public a legitimate
  institutional role in the development of court
  policies, plans, and programs.
• Court and community collaboration is a sustained,
  two-way commitment to ensuring that the justice
  system is open and effective for everyone.

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Court and Community Collaboration What is
Collaboration?

• Durable structures through which courts and
  communities can talk and cooperate
• Community involvement in identifying and solving
  community problems
• An ongoing two-way dialogue between the court and
  a cross-section of community members

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Court and Community Collaboration

• Two Types of Collaboration
• Programmatic A blueprint for establishing court
  programs or special courts for specific kinds of
  cases Problem-Solving
• Systemic An orientation to the administration
  of justice by a court or a state judicial branch,
  and the topics of this presentation

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Court and Community Collaboration

• The Road to Collaboration

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Court and Community Collaboration

• The Road to Collaboration
• Courts Without Communities

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Court and Community Collaboration

• The Road to Collaboration
• Courts Without Communities
• Courts in Crisis

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Court and Community Collaboration

• The Road to Collaboration
• Courts Without Communities
• Courts in Crisis
• Failure of Traditional Approaches

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Court and Community Collaboration

• The Road to Collaboration
• Courts Without Communities
• Courts in Crisis
• Failure of Traditional Approaches
• Changes in Public Expectations

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Court and Community Collaboration

• In sum, court and community collaboration
  represents an evolution of courts in response to
  dissatisfactions with past practice, new
  challenges, and changing public expectations of
  the role and openness of the judiciary.

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Court and Community Collaboration

• What is Court and Community Collaboration?

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Court and Community Collaboration

• What is Court and Community Collaboration?
• Commitment to Solving Community Problems

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Court and Community Collaboration

• What is Court and Community Collaboration?
• Commitment to Solving Community Problems
• On-going two-way consultation with the public
  about how the court should operate.

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Court and Community Collaboration

• What is Court and Community Collaboration?
• Commitment to Solving Community Problems
• On-going two-way consultation with the public
  about how the court should operate.
• Continuity

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Court and Community Collaboration

• Approaches to State Level Leadership
• Three distinct approaches to state level
  involvement have been critically examined
• California
• Massachusetts
• New York

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CaliforniaCourt and Community Collaboration

• Court and Community Collaboration in
• California
• Objective To improve the courts ability to
  maximize resources, meet increasing demands, and
  improve public confidence.

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Court and Community Collaboration

• California - Key Features

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Court and Community Collaboration

• California - Key Features
• Active Judicial Leadership

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Court and Community Collaboration

• California - Key Features
• Active Judicial Leadership
• Community-based Team Approach

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Court and Community Collaboration

• California - Key Features
• Active Judicial Leadership
• Community-based Team Approach
• Local Flexibility

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Court and Community Collaboration

• California - Key Features
• Active Judicial Leadership
• Community-based Team Approach
• Local Flexibility
• Obstacles Addressed Early On

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Court and Community Collaboration

• California - Key Features
• Active Judicial Leadership
• Community-based Team Approach
• Local Flexibility
• Obstacles Addressed Early On
• Collaboration as Change Agent

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MassachusettsCourt and Community Collaboration

• Massachusetts Judicial Branch
• Reinventing Justice
• Objective To support innovations and
  improvements in the administration of justice in
  the Massachusetts courts, based on consultation
  with the community.

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Court and Community Collaboration

• Massachusetts - Key Features

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Court and Community Collaboration

• Massachusetts - Key Features
• Strong statement of purpose

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Court and Community Collaboration

• Massachusetts - Key Features
• Strong statement of purpose
• Establishing a Community Communication Process

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Court and Community Collaboration

• Massachusetts - Key Features
• Strong statement of purpose
• Establishing a Community Communication Process
• Low Cost Initiatives

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Court and Community Collaboration

• Massachusetts - Key Features
• Strong statement of purpose
• Establishing a Community Communication Process
• Low Cost Initiatives
• Strong Local Roots

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Court and Community Collaboration

• Massachusetts - Key Features
• Strong statement of purpose
• Establishing a Community Communication Process
• Low Cost Initiatives
• Strong Local Roots
• Successful Pilot Project

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Court and Community Collaboration

• Massachusetts - Key Features
• Strong statement of purpose
• Establishing a Community Communication Process
• Low Cost Initiatives
• Strong Local Roots
• Successful Pilot Project
• Independence of Judicial Decision-Making

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New YorkCourt and Community Collaboration

• New York States Center for Court Innovation and
  Office for Justice Initiatives
• Objective To improve public confidence in
  courts by nurturing and sustaining new
  experiments in the delivery of justice from the
  ground up and to develop and coordinate
  community outreach initiatives that improve
  access to the courts and public understanding of
  the legal system.

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Court and Community Collaboration

• New York - Key Features

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Court and Community Collaboration

• New York - Key Features
• Collaborating to Collaborate

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Court and Community Collaboration

• New York - Key Features
• Collaborating to Collaborate
• High Level Recognition

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Court and Community Collaboration

• New York - Key Features
• Collaborating to Collaborate
• High Level Recognition
• Innovation Greenhouse

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Court and Community Collaboration

• New York - Key Features
• Collaborating to Collaborate
• High Level Recognition
• Innovation Greenhouse
• Project-Specific and Evolving Definitions of
  Community

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Court and Community Collaboration

• New York - Key Features
• Collaborating to Collaborate
• High Level Recognition
• Innovation Greenhouse
• Project-Specific and Evolving Definitions of
  Community
• State-Sponsored Dialogue

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Court and Community Collaboration

• Styles of State Involvement

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Court and Community Collaboration

• Styles of State Involvement
• Recognition and approval

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Court and Community Collaboration

• Styles of State Involvement
• Recognition and approval
• Centralized support and assistance

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Court and Community Collaboration

• Styles of State Involvement
• Recognition and approval
• Centralized support and assistance
• Management

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Court and Community Collaboration

• Lessons Learned

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Court and Community Collaboration

• Lessons Learned
• Judicial Commitment

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Court and Community Collaboration

• Lessons Learned
• Judicial Commitment
• Resource Support

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Court and Community Collaboration

• Lessons Learned
• Judicial Commitment
• Resource Support
• Success Breeds Success

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Court and Community Collaboration

• Lessons Learned
• Judicial Commitment
• Resource Support
• Success Breeds Success
• Focus on the Process

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Court and Community Collaboration

• Lessons Learned
• Judicial Commitment
• Resource Support
• Success Breeds Success
• Focus on the Process
• Tackle Perceived and Real Barriers to Judicial
  Participation Early

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Court and Community Collaboration

• Lessons Learned (cont)
• Tailor ambition and method to the strengths of
  the states court administration

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Court and Community Collaboration

• Lessons Learned (cont)
• Tailor ambition and method to the strengths of
  the states court administration
• Use the collaborative process to solve major
  challenges facing the states courts

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Court and Community Collaboration

• A Final Word
• The contribution of state level involvement to
  collaboration extends beyond supporting local
  efforts. The principles underlying collaboration
  can be incorporated into the governance and
  operations of state judicial branches. More
  broadly, collaboration is a philosophy by which
  the judicial branch conducts its business in all
  aspects of its operations.