Transcript Interpreters

Court Research Needs and
Interests at the Local Level
Association for Criminal Justice Research, California
Sacramento, March 2008
Sandy Hilger, Ph. D.
Planning and Research Officer
Superior Court of California, Orange County
1
Setting the Context

Large Urban Court:
 5th largest court in the nation, 5 major
justice centers
 County population of 3 million
 Over 500,000 traffic citations per year and
approximately 95,000 misdemeanor and
felony filings per year
 109 judges and 34 commissioners and 1800
staff positions
2
Setting the Context
Mission Statement of the Court:
“to serve the public by administering justice and
resolving disputes under the law, thereby
protecting the rights and liberties guaranteed
by the Constitutions of California and of the
United States of America.”
3
Setting the Context
History of the Planning and Research Unit:
2003 NCSC review of court management
…make management priorities known and make this
a standard of accountability
…base management priorities on taking a business
orientation to the challenges that the Court faces
…develop a rational way to prioritize services to the
public, keeping in mind its broad customer service
mission
NCSC: National Center for State Courts, Virginia
4
Mission of the
Planning and Research Unit
The mission of the Planning and Research unit is
to strengthen the court by:
Providing information regarding the needs and
expectations of our constituents and
stakeholders*, evaluating the overall
performance of the court, and providing
technical assistance on court performance
improvement projects.
5
Initial Needs Assessment
Summary of needs expressed during interviews of
judicial officers and managers:





Data integrity
Report validation and centralization
 Internal management reports
 Reports to the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)
Unification of processes
Program evaluation
Resource allocation and prioritization needs
 Information and processes for decision making
6
Strategic Planning and Research
Why link research to strategic planning?

In support of planning:



Performance evaluation
Trends
In support of research:



Prioritization
Communication and alignment
Timing:


Collaboration (internal and external)
Project dependency (e.g. upon data system builds)
7
Trends: Indicators of Research Needs
National Trends :








Population trends: increasing diversity, impact of an aging
population
Access to Justice: the Self-Represented Litigants
Problem-Solving Court (drug courts, DUI courts, etc.)
Measuring Court Performance
Impact of Technology
Privacy and public access to court records
Judicial Independence and selection
State Courts and Budget Challenges
http://www.ncsconline.org/ Publication: Future Trends in State Courts 2007
Justice In the Balance, 2020 – Report of the Commission on the Future of California
Courts (1993) http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/reference/documents/2020.pdf
8
Trends: Indicators of Research Needs
State Trends :






Population Growth
Ethnic diversity, language and age diversity
Regionalism – shift in most populous counties
Political distrust
Economic booms and busts – regional differences
Infrastructure: CA ranks near the bottom among the fifty
states in spending on infrastructure other than prisons.
Sipes, Larry Committed to Justice: The Rise of Judicial Administration in California,
Administrative Office of the Courts, 2002.
9
California Strategic Plan
Judicial Branch Goals:
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
Access, Fairness, and Diversity
Independence and Accountability
Modernization of Management and Administration
Quality of Justice and Service to the Public
Education for Branchwide Professional Excellence
Branchwide Infrastructure for Service Excellence
10
Research Projects
Access/ Fairness/Diversity:
Self-Help Study: Court User Needs Analysis.
Three surveys: Exit survey of court users, survey of
attorneys, staff and judicial officer survey
Attorney Outreach Survey:
On-line survey of attorneys. Purpose was to invite them to
provide input to the strategic plan of the court and to give us
feedback regarding the court. Conducted in collaboration with
the bar associations.
Traffic Study:
Survey, focus groups and interviews. Purpose is to provide
input regarding services used by the public to resolve traffic
matters.
11
Research Projects
Court Culture Study:
Conducted with NCSC (Brian Ostrom). Purpose is to examine
the “culture” of governance and structure of the court.
Collaborative (Problem-Solving Courts) Evaluations:
Drug Court evaluations were conducted in the past. Domestic
Violence “Safe Families Program” and DUI court evaluations
currently being conducted. Community Court will be an upcoming evaluation project.
Alternate Dispute Resolution:
Requests have been made for studies of alternative dispute
resolution.
12
Research Projects
Case Management/Timeliness Studies:
Family Law study of time to disposition, number of Order to
Show Cause Hearings, etc. (Pre-Post Studies)
Process Improvement Studies:
Studies are being conducted designed to provide consistency
in processes and procedures, and in the use of case
management system.
Data validation and report reliability studies:
Data and report validation and reliability is a priority for our
unit. This is a long-term effort.
13
Planning and Research Unit Staff









Planning and Research Officer/Manager (Sandy Hilger)
Administrative Assistant (Kari Gates)
Two researchers (Dan Petras, Dae Lee)
Process-improvement specialist (Janet HamlinClinkscales)
Grants manager (Julia Jim)
Strategic planning specialist (Janine Boiarsky)
Legislative analyst (Erin Rigby)
3 graduate student paid “extra help” interns
Judicial Administration Fellow
14
In Closing…
Please attend this afternoons court research
forum/discussion form 1:30 – 3:00 if you are
in any way interested in research topics as
they apply to the courts.
Contact information for the Planning and Research
Unit, Superior Court of California, Orange County:
Sandy Hilger, Ph.D.
Planning and Research Officer (714) 834-3379
[email protected]
15