Strategic Planning

Goal IV - Quality of Justice and Service to the Public

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 (PDF, 9 MB) | Text only version (PDF, 154 KB).

Activities

• Community-Focused Court Planning
  The process of inviting and encouraging community participation in court planning efforts. This community-focused court planning process helps courts better understand public perspectives and develop strong and effective partnerships with community organizations.
• Creative Programs for California Courts
  Programs and initiatives that help our courts run better and, in turn, continue to improve access to justice for all Californians.
• Invitations to Comment
  The Judicial Council regularly seeks comments from persons and organizations interested in proposed changes to the California Rules of Court, Standards of Judicial Administration, and Judicial Council forms.
• Jury Improvement Program
  Promotes, monitors, and coordinates efficient and effective jury administration and management policies and practices designed to improve California's jury system.
• JusticeCorps
  JusticeCorps recruits and trains diverse university students to help overburdened court and legal aid staff who are assisting self-represented litigants in court-based self-help programs.
• Online Self-Help Center
  Created to help Californians find legal information, work better with an attorney, and represent themselves in some legal matters.

Reports and Articles

• Judicial Council Annual Reports (1998 - Present)

Task Forces and Commissions

• Blue Ribbon Commission on Children in Foster Care
  Provides leadership and recommendations to improve the ability of the federal government, California's state and local agencies, and the courts to protect children in California by helping them to become part of a permanent family that will provide a safe, stable, and secure home.
• Collaborative Justice Courts Advisory Committee
  Advises the council on collaborative justice courts (including drug courts, teen courts, domestic violence courts, and other collaborative courts).
• Court Interpreters Advisory Panel
  Dedicated to improving the number and quality of interpreters in the courts.
• Domestic Violence Practice and Procedure Task Force
  Makes recommendations to the Judicial Council or its advisory committees for changes in the practice, procedure, or administration of cases involving domestic violence allegations.
• Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Committee
  Identifies issues and concerns faced by the courts in matters related to procedure, practice, and management of cases involving marriage, family, or children and suggests solutions and responses.
• Probate and Mental Health Advisory Committee
  Assists the Judicial Council on probate and mental health issues.
• Probate Conservatorship Task Force
  Makes recommendations to the Judicial Council for reforms and improvements to the overall system of conservatorship administration.
• Task Force on Self-Represented Litigants
  Develops best practices to assist the growing number of Californians who need legal services but cannot afford an attorney.
• Traffic Advisory Committee
  Works toward improving the administration of justice in the adjudication of traffic and bail-forfeitable offenses; identifies policy issues and recommends rules and model procedures that will make the handling of traffic and bail-forfeitable offenses more consistent statewide.