Judicial Division. Strategic Plan

Transcription

1 Judicial Division Strategic Plan The Judicial Division serves as the voice of the judiciary, supports an accessible, fair and impartial justice system, and seeks to improve public trust and understanding of the role of courts in upholding the rule of law. Goal I: Advance the public s trust and understanding of the role of the courts in upholding the rule of law. Strategy I.1: Develop substantive programs to improve public trust and confidence in the judiciary. I.1.1 Develop programs and procedures to improve judicial ethics. JD Program I.1.2 Provide support and guidance on the handling of ethical JD Ethics violations. I.1.3 Develop programs that will assist judges in performing their JD Program gatekeeping functions regarding forensic science. I.1.4 Develop best practices that will help judges identify issues that affect cost and unreasonable delay in litigation. I.1.5 Develop JD programs and materials for ABA Day, ABA Day JD Program UN, Law Day, and the Least Understood Branch project for JD members to present and/or disseminate. I.1.6 Communicate to state bar leaders that model programs educating the public about the justice system are available through JD. JD Communications, JD Staff Strategy I.2: Establish a resource center to house all available justice-system-related public education outreach activities. Page 1 of 12

2 I.2.1 Designate a JD staff member to be responsible for all JD JD Staff outreach activities. I.2.2 Identify information about outreach programs and materials and link to them on the JD web site. JD Judicial Outreach Network I.2.3 Prepare a template for reporting and displaying outreach program information. JD Judicial Outreach Network I.2.4 Regularly update web links relating to outreach programs. JD Staff, JD Judicial Outreach Network I.2.5 Inform JD members that information about outreach programs is available on the JD website. JD Judicial Outreach Network Strategy I.3: Encourage JD members participation in justice-system-related outreach programs through the JD, other ABA entities, and outside organizations. I.3.1 I.3.2 I.3.3 I.3.4 I.3.5 Encourage the ABA to establish a central clearinghouse for JD Council all ABA outreach programs. Develop partnerships with other ABA entities on outreach JD Judicial Outreach Network efforts. Develop relationships with and coordinate with other JD Council institutions that provide outreach programs about the justice system. On an annual basis, ask JD members to report on their JD Judicial Outreach Network participation in outreach activities. Prepare an annual report or article regarding JD members JD Judicial Outreach Network participation in outreach activities. Goal II: Achieve a judiciary that reflects our nation s diversity. Strategy II.1: Establish and support a judicial career guidance program. Page 2 of 12

3 II.1.1 II.1.2 II.1.3 II.1.4 II.1.5 II.1.6 II.1.7 Establish a JD committee to organize and monitor a judicial JD Chair career guidance program. Develop a process to identify judges willing to serve as JD Career Guide career guides. Develop an application process to screen potential lawyer JD Career Guide participants. Develop training programs and materials to assist judges in JD Career Guide being effective career guides. Inform lawyer members of JD that judicial career guides are JD Staff available. Create an effective means by which to match judicial career JD Career Guide guides with lawyers. Create a mechanism for providing feedback on the JD Career Guide effectiveness of the career guide experience for both the judicial and lawyer participants. Strategy II.2: Implement the JD Diversity Plan within all conferences by II.2.1 II.2.2 II.2.3 II.2.4 II.2.5 II.2.6 Communicate the requirements of the JD Diversity Plan to all JD Chair conferences and committees. Strive for diversity in all committee appointments, program JD Council panelists, publications contributors and other initiatives. Annually review the diversity plans of JD and each JD Diversity conference, compare them to other diversity and inclusion plans, and suggest modifications. Develop a format for conferences and committees to report JD Diversity on compliance with the Diversity Plan. Present an annual report to the JD Council regarding JD Diversity compliance with the Diversity Plan. Encourage JD members to update their ABA profiles with JD Council demographic data that will make it easier for staff to identify Page 3 of 12

4 II.2.7 diverse members. Encourage members to respond to the annual Goal II diversity data survey. Strategy II.3: Promote justice system careers to diverse audiences. JD Council II.3.1 II.3.2 II.3.3 Continue and expand the high school outreach programs held JD Diversity by JD each year at the Midyear and Annual Meetings. Continue and expand the Judicial Clerkship Program held JD Judicial Clerkship Program each year at the Midyear Meeting. Develop and promote programs and materials that judges and JD Diversity lawyers can use to do outreach in their own communities promoting justice system careers. Goal III: Improve the administration of justice. Strategy III.1: Promote the effective use of technology at every level of the judiciary. III.1.1 III.1.2 III.1.3 Create a resource center on the JD website linking to information about technology that courts can use to improve case filing, document access, case presentation, and case management. Identify ways that courts can use technology to improve service to diverse populations, including persons for whom English is a second language, hearing- and vision-impaired persons, self-represented litigants, and the elderly. Add this information to the technology resource center on the JD website. Identify how technology will impact court infrastructure and personnel through such things as paperless courts, remote access by litigants, witnesses, and counsel, and remote Page 4 of 12

5 working arrangements. Strategy III.2: Work to achieve equal access to the justice system for the poor, underrepresented, those with mental or physical disabilities, and those who face language and other such barriers. III.2.1 Sponsor or co-sponsor live and distance learning programs JD Program focusing on issues related to equal access to justice. III.2.2 Create and promote a resource center on the JD website compiling tools and strategies for improving access to justice. JD Communications, JD Staff III.2.3 Implement the recommendations that resulted from the 2013 Perceptions of Justice Summit. JD Perceptions of Justice III.2.4 Partner with other ABA entities in their efforts to improve JD Council access to justice. III.2.5 Encourage state, federal, specialty, and tribal courts to take steps to increase access to justice in their courts. JD Council Strategy III.3: Create or identify and promote judicial leadership and management skills training. III.3.1 III.3.2 Identify resources available for judicial leadership and management skills training and link them to the JD website. Create and present webinars on judicial leadership and management skills. Strategy III.4: Advocate for adequate court funding. III.4.1 III.4.2 Strategy III.5: Identify cost-saving strategies that can be shared across courts. Page 5 of 12

6 III.5.1 Encourage research and implementation of evidence-based practices to better promote justice at lower cost (e.g., evidence-based standards for pretrial release, probation, or post-incarceration supervision). Goal IV: Advance the rule of law throughout the world. IV.1.1 IV.1.2 Strategy IV.1: Facilitate JD member participation in training, program, and other opportunities to advance the rule of law throughout the world. Identify programs such as the Jessup Moot Court and the ICC JD Rule of Law and Moot Court and provide encouragement and funding for JD International Courts members participation. Seek out opportunities and provide judicial experts who can participate in training and other programs advancing the rule of law. JD Rule of Law and International Courts IV.1.3 Seek and create opportunities to host foreign jurists. JD Rule of Law and International Courts IV.1.4 Create a mechanism for members to report and track participation in activities related to advancing the rule of law. JD Rule of Law and International Courts Strategy IV.2: Establish liaisons with other entities both within and outside of the ABA which are concerned with the rule of law throughout the world. IV.2.1 IV.2.2 Establish liaison relationships and partner on programming JD Chair, JD Rule of Law and with ABA entities such as the ABA Center for Human International Courts Rights, and the Section of International Law s committees on International Courts and Human Rights, and their Women s Interest Network. Establish liaison relationships and partner on programming with organizations outside the ABA such as the American Page 6 of 12 JD Chair, JD Rule of Law and International Courts

7 Society of International Law, the International Association of Women Judges, the International of the Judicial Conference of the Unites States, and the International Bar Association. Strategy IV.3: Provide information to JD members on activities of courts, boards and tribunals with primary sites outside the United States. IV.3.1 IV.3.2 Create a resource center on the JD website for informing JD JD Rule of Law and members about the activities of courts and tribunals with International Courts primary sites outside of the United States. Publish articles about activities related to courts and tribunals with primary sites outside of the United States. JD Communications, JD Rule of Law and International Courts Strategy IV.4: Provide timely and accurate information to JD members on judicial issues of international concern. IV.4.1 IV.4.2 Develop a method for tracking issues of international JD Rule of Law and concern, such as the independence of the judiciary in International Courts emerging or existing nations, and regularly report these issues to JD members. Present programs advancing the rule of law both domestically and internationally on topics such as human trafficking and international crime. JD Program, JD Rule of Law and International Courts Goal V: Be an effective voice for the judiciary within and through the ABA. Strategy V.1: Ensure that 90% of the judges who are members of the ABA are members of the JD. Page 7 of 12

8 V.1.1 Identify all judges who are members of the ABA. JD Staff V.1.2 Annually, send to non-jd member judges an informational packet about the benefits of JD membership. JD Membership, JD Staff V.1.3 Send a follow-up letter from the JD Chair to all non-jd member judges asking that they join the JD. JD Chair Strategy V.2: Ensure that 90% of judges that belong to the JD also belong to another division or section within the ABA. V.2.1 V.2.2 V.2.3 V.2.4 Establish joint membership programs with other JD Membership divisions/sections. Plan with other sections/divisions joint dinners, breakfasts, JD Chair receptions, planning conferences, and programs. Disseminate to JD members informational materials about the JD Staff work and programs of other sections/divisions. Encourage each JD Conference as part of their strategic plan JD Council to include as a goal that 90% of their members join another section or division. Strategy V.3: Create a JD liaison with every division and section within the ABA. V.3.1 V.3.2 V.3.3 V.3.4 V.3.5 Identify JD members who are members of other JD Staff divisions/sections within the ABA. Contact divisions/sections within the ABA that do not JD Chair presently have a JD liaison to establish one with them. Appoint as liaisons JD members who are able and willing to JD Chair attend that division s/section s meetings throughout the year. Financially support efforts of liaisons to attend meetings and JD Council programs offered by other divisions/sections. Provide liaisons with opportunity to regularly report to JD JD Chair issues/concerns/initiatives of their assigned Page 8 of 12

9 V.3.6 sections/divisions. Require that all liaisons report at each Midyear and Annual Meeting on the work of the liaison s assigned division/section. JD Chair Strategy V.4: Establish an organized process to promote the JD s positions in the House of Delegates and to the Board of Governors. V.4.1 V.4.2 V.4.3 V.4.4 Establish a process to insure that liaisons promptly forward to JD Liaisons the JD executive committee all resolutions being sponsored or considered by the liaison s section/division for consideration by the HOD. Establish a resolution committee, comprised of the JD and JD Chair Conference HOD Delegates, to provide recommendations to the JD Council on positions and responses regarding other divisions /sections resolutions before they are formally presented to the HOD. Provide funding for the JD Chair and Chair-Elect to attend JD Council Board of Governors meetings. Provide regular reports to the JD Council regarding agenda JD BOG Representative items and actions being considered by the Board of Governors. Strategy V.5: Establish a liaison with judicial and court-related organizations outside the ABA. V.5.1 Identify non-aba groups with which to liaison. JD Council V.5.2 Develop a talking points memo to obtain liaison agreements JD Chair with other groups. V.5.3 Designate representatives to approach outside groups that JD Chair have related missions and goals, and coordinate the liaison process. V.5.4 Inform JD members about these liaison relationships. JD Staff Page 9 of 12

10 Strategy V.6: Increase membership by at least 10% each year. V.6.1 V.6.2 V.6.3 Coordinate conference membership plans, support group JD Membership membership and other member-incentive programs, and gather information about potential members in other parts of the ABA. Establish a Chair Award to recognize outstanding court JD Chair membership and participation within the JD. Develop a membership retention incentive to encourage JD Membership conference membership Chairs to retain the highest number of members possible each year. Strategy V.7: Provide a point of contact for entities to obtain judicial participants for educational programs and other activities. V.7.1 Offer and provide assistance to entities inside and outside of JD Judicial Outreach Network the ABA that wish to obtain judges as participants in educational programs and other activities. Goal VI: Effectively communicate with and provide valuable benefits to JD members. Strategy VI.1: Enhance the JD and conference websites to serve as resource centers for members. VI.1.1 Regularly review the websites to ensure they are linked to other ABA sections and divisions and to appropriate outside JD Staff, JD Communications organizations. VI.1.2 Review other judicial and legal websites to identify effective JD Communications formats and content. VI.1.3 Seek professional assistance in reviewing the JD and JD Staff, JD Communications Page 10 of 12

11 VI.1.4 conference websites on a regular basis. Establish Facebook and Twitter accounts and annually review their effectiveness. JD Staff, JD Communications Strategy VI.2: Ensure members understand all ABA options and other means by which JD communicates with members. VI.2.1 Notify all JD members of the new preference options JD Staff via JD Record, Judges Journal, , and regular mail. VI.2.2 Inform members of the differences between member-tomember JD Staff via the listservs, staff to member via the ABA program Maestro, and other communication options. VI.2.3 Promote new policy in JD Record and Judges Journal. JD Staff VI.2.4 Establish an communication policy within each Conference. Strategy VI.3: Obtain the addresses of 90% of JD members, and permission to use them for JD and conference communications. VI.3.1 VI.3.2 VI.3.3 VI.3.4 Using the JD Record, Judges Journal, the listservs, and JD Staff regular mail, encourage members to provide an address for the ABA database and set preferences to allow for at least JD- and conference-specific s. Regularly review open rates and follow up with JD Staff, JD Communications members who are receiving but not opening JD s Provide incentives for members to allow JD to send them JD Membership communications. Establish state and federal JD contacts to assist in obtaining JD Conference Chairs addresses. Strategy VI.4: Establish regularly scheduled communications to members. Page 11 of 12

12 VI.4.1 VI.4.2 VI.4.3 Establish regularly published electronic newsletters for each JD Conference Chairs conference. Include information regarding member benefits, meetings, programs, events, ABA initiatives, deadlines, and other useful items. Review the effectiveness and continued viability of JD JD Communications Record. Establish topic-driven, monitored forums and identify JD Staff, JD Communications monitors from each conference. Strategy VI.5: Look for opportunities to offer members cost-effective membership dues packages. Strategy VI.6: Offer free and low-cost CLE programming to JD members. Strategy VI.7: Create opportunities for JD members to socialize and network with each other and with peers in other ABA entities and outside organizations. Page 12 of 12