Prior to conducting their engagements, each of the pilot teams were asked what they hoped to achieve. The teams then designed their engagements to meet the communication needs associated with their goals.
Goal 1: Educate the Public
Educating the public implies communication from the courts to the public. Several of the pilot teams identified influencing or educating communities as an important goal of their projects. Courts should keep in mind that providing education or information about important court-related functions or processes should be a continual priority. Courts and the general public speak different languages.
For many people, particularly those that feel marginalized or harmed by the legal system, involvement with courts and court culture is a difficult, intimidating, and traumatizing experience. Courts can engage the public in proactive ways to educate constituents and promote positive changes.
Engaging the public to positively influence perceptions, increase knowledge, and spur productive community interactions has many benefits:
- Informing people of their rights and responsibilities in the legal system
- Addressing or dispelling inaccurate understandings of courts and the legal system
- Motivating people to be involved in court activities like jury duty
- Facilitating court and community partnerships to solve difficult problems
- Inspiring wider efforts to involve the public in shaping court policies and outcomes
- The Franklin County, Ohio Municipal Court provided educational presentations and handouts in a large group discussion with community stakeholders to increase awareness and utilization of its specialized dockets.
- The Kansas City, Missouri Municipal Court emphasized education and questions and answers between court professionals and youth at a small group discussion targeting high school youth.
- The Puerto Rico Judicial Branch used interactive exercises to inform adult and youth leaders about court functions and services that may facilitate solutions to community conflicts.
Goal 2: Improve the Courts
The goal of improving the courts implies that the courts engage the public to help them understand the court improvements that are needed and, potentially, the solutions most likely to be acceptable to the public. Several pilot teams employed uni-directional or multi-directional engagement methods aimed at obtaining public feedback to improve the courts.
Engagement aimed at court improvement can expose judges and court professionals to vital insights about community problems and help with, for example:
- Reducing racial/ethnic disparities in court processes and outcomes
- Identifying barriers to increase access to and proper use of court programs
- Increasing efficiencies and reducing caseloads by improving functions and services
- The Franklin County, Ohio Municipal Court worked with Black faith leaders to design, recruit for, and host a large group discussion with other community networks to improve access to its specialized court dockets.
- The Nebraska Supreme Court Office of the State Court Administrator conducted listening sessions to increase awareness among judges and court professionals of issues, barriers to access, and disparities experienced among Native American communities.
- The Texas Office of Court Administration employed small group discussions to engage residents from different district local court jurisdictions about awareness and perceptions of courts, court services, and fairness.
Goal 3: Build and Strengthen Relationships
The goal of building and strengthening relationships implies that two-way communication where both parties in the relationship have the opportunity to be heard and understood, as well as to hear and understand the perspective of the other. Meaningful engagement increases person-to-person court-public contacts that can create trust. This approach to engagement emphasizes the importance of generating two-way dialogue to identify problems, share new or previously excluded perspectives and experiences, and develop mutually beneficial solutions.
Building and strengthening community partnerships through active engagement has multiple benefits:
- Reducing feelings of distrust among minority communities that have been excluded or underrepresented from the legal profession
- Increasing the likelihood that difficult problems can be effectively addressed through coalitions
- Improving outcomes for at-risk, court-involved persons who need support from community-based entities
- At the request of the Alianza leaders' group , the Puerto Rico Judicial Branch first held a preliminary meeting with the leaders to introduce their Office of Education and Community Relations, and to co-create goals for a later engagement implemented separately.
- The Kansas City, Missouri Municipal Court built relationships with community stakeholders by partnering with them in the design, planning, training, and facilitation of discussions about failure to appear rates among minority communities.
- The Administrative Office of the Massachusetts Trial Court convened group discussions, an expert panel, and a world café with substance abuse treatment providers and other community stakeholders, thereby building relationships while addressing substance addiction and barriers to access effective treatment.
Goal 4: Express Engagement as a Value
Some teams felt engagement and communication was a value they wished to express. Proponents of public engagement assert that the involvement of communities not only facilitates better program outcomes but are part of a larger commitment and responsibility to the public good. This aspect of public engagement reflects its connection to the principles and values of a democratic society. As the branch of government charged with interpreting and applying the law, courts can use their visibility to demonstrate the importance of engaging communities about issues that matter.
Authentic and meaningful engagement can increase civic engagement and collaborative problem-solving skills among both ordinary citizens and court professionals. People sometimes perceive courts as the most insular or distant branch of government. Courts which actively involve and dialogue with the public for the good of engagement demonstrate a commitment to democratic principles that may help unravel these perceptions. Practicing engagement over time – particularly with marginalized segments of society – can lead to a gradual shift in court cultures that increase and expand connections to their communities. Many courts have already successfully institutionalized public engagement through regular, community-oriented activities outside the courthouse.
Consistently practicing engagement as a recognized value can produce multiple spill-over effects and beneficial outcomes over time:
- Increasing the capacity of court professionals and citizens to develop civic engagement skills
- Fostering greater trust in courts through visible and long-term commitments to meaningful public engagement
- Raising expectations for further and more meaningful engagement by courts through example
- The Nebraska Supreme Court Office of the State Court Administrator created infrastructure for engagement by working with Nebraska Consortium of Tribal, State, and Federal Courts. The Consortium is a working group composed of and thus already engaging representatives from tribal, state and federal courts and associated legal and community organizations. As part of this pilot, Nebraska extended the reach of its engagement by conducting listening sessions with Native Americans across Nebraska.
- As part of the present pilot efforts, the Administrative Office of the Massachusetts Trial Court first employed small group discussions with stakeholders to identify possible court-based solutions to substance abuse and homelessness. Massachusetts then expanded its public engagement activities through more town hall events, listening sessions, community conversations on race, and virtual/online opportunities.
- The Texas Office of Court Administration involved local court jurisdictions in designing and executing engagements to grow public engagement practices and develop engagement partnerships across the state.