More than 200 court managers from across the United States and a few from international destinations descended upon Atlantic City, New Jersey, for NACM’s Mid-Year Conference in early February. Over the course of two days, attendees heard from experts on a myriad of topics, many of which centered on the conference theme, “Measuring and Taking Action on Public Trust and Confidence.” Although there were many excellent topics from great speakers, I focus this “recap” on a few sessions that dealt specifically with the overarching theme while attempting to provide those unable to attend with resources to learn more about these important issues.
Public trust and confidence in government, including the judicial branch, is often a hotly debated topic, and there is no shortage of data compiled from years of opinion polls. A recent National Center for State Courts (NCSC) poll shows that 63% of Americans express trust and confidence in the nation’s state courts. NCSC’s Vice President of Public Affairs, Jesse Rutledge, presented on the State of the State Courts by examining nearly 50 years of public opinion. He provided an overview of the recent survey and a comprehensive comparison to past public opinion research and surveys. For those looking to dive deeper, consider visiting NCSC’s Beyond Civics Education website and reading Jesse’s recent article in the Journal of the American Judges Association titled Observations from NCSC’s State of the State Courts Public Opinion Surveys.
The mid-year conference opened with a plenary session by Judge Victoria Pratt on Why What We Do Matters. Judge Pratt, who served as the chief judge of Newark’s Municipal Court in Newark, New Jersey, centered her discussion on what courts do and how simple behavioral changes by judges and other court participants, including court managers, have a positive impact on the public’s perception of, and ultimately, trust, in the justice system. She explained the central concept of her discussion, “procedural justice,” as having four principles, all of which work together to increase the public’s trust in the courts:
- Voice: giving those before the court the opportunity to speak.
- Neutrality: avoiding the appearance of favoring one side over the other.
- Understanding: using “plain language” as opposed to “legalese” to ensure court participants understand the process and the questions being asked.
- Respect: saying “good morning” and looking the other person in the eye when communicating.
Judge Pratt explained these principles using real-world examples from her time on the bench. In addition to watching Judge Pratt’s open plenary session and follow-up breakout session on NACM’s conference website, her TED Talk on the same subject, How judges can show respect, has over 1 million views and is quite insightful.
A NACM conference would not be complete without sessions developed around NACM’s CORE® curriculum. This year’s mid-year event offered CORE® sessions on ethics, building trust, and enhancing public confidence in the judiciary. The CORE® Curriculum is intended to promote the interests and further educate court professionals around the following thirteen competencies:
- Leadership
- Court Governance
- Strategic Planning
- Ethics
- Workforce Management
- Accountability and Court Performance
- Public Relations
- Operations Management
- Budget and Fiscal Management
- Caseflow and Workflow
- Educational Development
- Public Trust and Confidence
- Purposes and Responsibilities
Those interested in learning more are encouraged to participate in the CORE® Champion Program, which is designed to:
- Strengthen court professionals
- Provide greater exposure to the CORE®
- Recognize attendance at qualified CORE® sessions
- Allow participants to demonstrate basic understanding on the 13 CORE® Competencies.
Please visit the NACM CORE® website for more information on the different competencies and how you can benefit from becoming involved in the CORE® Champion program.
The mid-year conference also included sessions on the importance of emotional intelligence in leadership, the importance of customer service in the courts, leveraging artificial intelligence and “chatbots” to promote access to justice, and leadership strategies to build trust, credibility, and collaboration. For those who were unable to attend the mid-year conference, many of the sessions were livestreamed for virtual participants and can be viewed on NACM’s conference video web page.
The closing plenary discussion provided attendees with a “Health and Wellness” roadmap for taking proactive measures to restore public trust and confidence in the judicial branch. The presenters, Jesse Rutledge and GBAO Strategies founding partner Karl Agne began by discussing recent public opinion surveys designed to measure the public’s trust in the judicial branch, with particular attention on specific focus groups. The pair then discussed four essential “Health and Wellness” steps for courts to embrace to engage with the public to increase their trust and confidence in the judicial branch. The speakers stressed using the four steps discussed below for courts to “tell their own story” to engage the public as to the workings of state courts and to dispel unfounded assumptions that tend to erode public trust and confidence:
- Exercise (“the heavy lifting”): Statistics demonstrate that state courts handle 95% of court cases. As one attendee mentioned, state courts are often overlooked or confused with the work of federal courts. The speakers stressed the importance of educating the public that the vast majority of court cases are filed and processed in the nation’s state courts.
- EAT (Ethics, Accountability, and Transparency) Right: The presenters discussed that many public observers assume there is no accountability when it comes to state judicial officers, tying this assumption to the way the nation’s highest court is sometimes portrayed in the media. As we all know, state judicial codes of conduct bind judicial officers with clearly delineated processes for handling ethical transgressions. During their focus group research, the speakers learned that most people care that there are “guardrails” for ensuring proper conduct. They also discussed the importance of educating the public on these ethical constraints and accountability.
- Don’t SLEEP on Community Impact: The speakers noted that most individuals are either angry with or disconnected from government authorities because they do not view such institutions as solving community-based or individual problems. As many of us in the state courts know, and as the speakers noted, courts often operate as a first line of defense on most of society’s problems. For example, many jurisdictions have implemented problem-solving courts or other innovative approaches as alternatives to the traditional adversarial nature of court proceedings to solve or lessen social and other community-based issues. This is no more evident than in the context of drug courts, homeless or community courts, and mental health courts. It is important to connect the public with how the courts utilize these alternatives to assist with alleviating these individual and community-based concerns.
- SUPPLEMENT Your Media Coverage: Last month’s edition of The Court Manager included an article on the importance of having a dedicated public information officer for your court. As the final step in the “Health and Wellness Guide,” courts need to take a proactive approach to communicating the work of the courts. We all know there are limitations to what judges and other court officials can say, but plenty can be said and even done. It is important that judges and court leaders engage with the community in which they serve, either by attending local community events or implementing court-related activities to promote the work of the court. One such example of how to accomplish this is as easy as implementing a courthouse tour program designed to welcome persons of all ages to observe court proceedings while providing an opportunity for questions and answers with court leaders and judges. These visits can be inspiring and even life-changing for the participants.
To learn more about the “Health and Wellness Guide,” please visit NCSC’s Beyond Civics Education website.
Registration is currently open for NACM’s Annual Conference, which will be held July 20-24, 2025, in Omaha, Nebraska. The theme will build on the topics discussed during the mid-year conference by examining how to promote public trust and confidence through service and collaboration. Please visit www.nacmnet.org/conferences for more information, including how to register and for a copy of the agenda. We look forward to seeing you in Omaha!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Joseph D’Amico currently serves as the trial court administrator for the 17th Judicial Circuit Court, covering Broward County, Fla.
