News Release Date:   February 10, 1999  Number:  05

Judicial Council Approves Report by Court/Community Outreach Task Force

San Francisco — The Judicial Council yesterday encouraged California state judges to participate in community outreach activities to promote public understanding of the judicial system and confidence in the courts.

The council approved recommendations of the Special Task Force on Court/Community Outreach, appointed by Chief Justice Ronald M. George in 1997 to study public trust and confidence in the courts. The task force is chaired by Judge Veronica Simmons McBeth, presiding judge of the Los Angeles Municipal Court.

The new standard of judicial administration and amended rules of court that encourage court involvement in community outreach will take effect April 1, 1999, and were previously circulated by the task force for public comment before their adoption by the Judicial Council.

Section 39 of the Standards of Judicial Administration provides that judicial participation in community outreach activities should be considered “an official judicial function” to promote public understanding of and confidence in the administration of justice.  The standard provides that this function should be performed in accordance with the California Code of Judicial Ethics and encourages the judiciary to provide active leadership on public access issues; develop local education programs for the public; obtain information from the public about how the court system can be more responsive to their needs; and serve as guest speakers about the court system.

Chaired by Chief Justice George, the 27-member Judicial Council also:
 

• Authorized distribution of a handbook titled Dialogue: Courts Reaching Out to Their Communities – A Handbook for Creating and Enhancing Court and Community Collaboration, to all California trial and appellate courts to encourage them to participate in such activities.

• Established the Judicial Council’s court and community collaboration program as a “high priority.”

• Amended the charge of the Community-Focused Court Planning Implementation Committee to include oversight of ongoing court and community collaboration program activities.

In other business, the Judicial Council heard a report from the Trial Court Budget Commission on the new budget development process that will govern state trial courts starting in fiscal year 2000-2001.  Los Angeles Municipal Court Judge Ray Hart, the chair of the budget commission, told council members that the primary goal of the new budget model is to accurately reflect statewide priorities and local court needs.

Under the new process, budget requests that courts submit in each Judicial Council-approved priority area, combined with workload data and information on current operating and service levels statewide, will be used to develop the recommended budget request for fiscal year 2000-2001. This request on behalf of the trial courts will be considered by the Judicial Council; once revised and approved, it will be submitted to the Department of Finance in September.
 

• Approved funding for the council’s Court-Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) grant awards program for fiscal year 1998-1999 and delegated to the council’s Executive and Planning Committee the authority to approve future CASA grant fund allocations

• Adopted a new rule governing the Trial Court Presiding Judges Advisory Committee to reflect trial court unification and to increase participation by presiding judges. The council repealed rule 1027 of the California Rules of Court and adopted rule 6.46 in its place

• Approved an amendment to rule 1638 to submit required statistical information on the Civil Action Mediation Program to the council either on forms adopted by the council or as an electronic database

• Approved a revised conflict of interest code for the Administrative Office of the Courts, adding several new job classifications to the code

• Adopted the 1998 restatement of the Judicial Council’s Legislative Guidelines and Precedents

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