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Step 3: Identify Solutions

 

Potential strategies for increasing the court’s cultural sensitivity are identified below. Courts should consider these strategies in the context of their own jurisdictional culture and resources and modify procedures accordingly.

1.  Obtain information about the court’s community

2.  Adopt procedures to process public and inter-office complaints
3.  Ensure judicial and court awareness of laws and customs affecting minorities

4.  Provide education and training  

5.  Work with the community to assist minorities with the court system  

6.  Establish task forces or commissions on race and ethnic bias 

 

1.  Obtain information about the court’s community

Court staff should be familiar with the cultural variance that exists within the community and with community opinions. Feedback can be obtained by surveying clergy, local government officials, and other community leaders to obtain a more complete picture of public perceptions. Other options for collecting information include surveying the public and reviewing computerized databases containing demographic data on court users. Courts should be aware of the limitations of these methods. The community picture painted by a public survey, for example, is dependent on the individuals who respond and may miss some groups or inaccurately represent others. Computerized databases are limited to the information collected; information such as immigrant status is not available.

Examples and Resources

  • Weller, Steven and John A. Martin.  Culturally Responsive Alternative Dispute Resolution for Latinos.  The State Justice Institute and the Center for Public Policy Studies, 1996.  A good example of population-specific research; provides recommendations to better serve Latino communities.

2.  Adopt procedures to process public and inter-office complaints

Some minority community members do not think judges and court staff members are held accountable for biased conduct (see California ’s Race and Ethnic Fairness Task Force Report #1 in “examples and resources,” below). By recording complaints, judicial departments, areas, and individuals exhibiting culturally insensitive behavior can be identified and remedies provided. Making such complaints public also may encourage more sensitivity among court staff and reassure the public that their views are taken seriously. 

An efficient, coordinated complaint process may require the formation of a separate office. In 1992, the New Jersey Supreme Court Task Force on Minority Concerns recommended that ombudsman offices be established at the state and vicinage levels to provide information about the courts and to receive and investigate complaints about abuses in the judicial system (see History of the Ombudsman Office and Procedures for Filing a Complaint in the Office of the Ombudsman in “Examples and Resources,” below). For more examples of ombudsman programs and resources for their development, see “Examples and Resources,” below.

 Examples and Resources

  • California’s Race and Ethnic Fairness Task Force Report #1   This report discusses minority sentiments towards biased conduct in the court system.  It particularly focuses on how many minority community members believe that judges and court staff members often are not held accountable for biased conduct.

Ombudsman Resources:

 

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  1. Ensure judicial and court awareness of laws and customs affecting minorities

Differences between U.S. laws and customs and those of immigrant and culturally diverse communities may produce major conflicts. For example, judges who lack awareness of tribal sovereignty and knowledge of Indian laws, such as the Indian Child Welfare Act, can produce inconsistent rulings.  Strategies to ensure that differences are understood and appropriately addressed follow.

The court should be informed about the implications of certain laws on specific court users to prevent contradictory rulings and trial delays (see California ’s Race and Ethnic Fairness Task Force Report #1 in “Examples and Resources,” below).  For example, immigrants and Indian groups can be seriously affected by the court’s lack of awareness. 

  • Create reference guidelines, such as those for the interaction between tribal and state court systems (see New York ’s Race and Ethnic Fairness Task Force Report #1 in “Examples and Resources,” below).

  • Generate a list of accessible “contact individuals” who are well versed in the laws and customs of minority groups to serve as resources in specific cases.  They may be able to help expedite cases and prevent misunderstandings. 

  • Contact community leaders to help identify problematic laws and procedures for cultural minorities (e.g., Indiana ’s inclusion of judicial, business and community leaders in the Race and Gender Fairness Commission, created in late 1999).

 Examples and Resources

  • The National Center for State Courts has created a “Best or Promising Practices for Combating Bias in the Courts: Reference List,” including links to articles and other publications; organization websites; fact sheets and guidelines; and model programs, policies, and action plans (see http://www.ncsconline.org/WC/Education/KIS_RacFaiBestGuide.pdf).  The NCSC has also produced “Combating Bias in the Courts: Resource Guide,” which provides a host of additional resources for the courts on bias and fairness (see http://www.ncsconline.org/WC/Education/KIS_RacFaiGuide.pdf).

  • California ’s Race and Ethnic Fairness Task Force Report #1 (see http://www.ncsconline.org/Projects_Initiatives/REFI/CA1REB.htm.

  • New York ’s Race and Ethnic Fairness Task Force Report #1 (see http://www.ncsconline.org/Projects_Initiatives/REFI/NY1REB.htm#Culture).

  • Georgia ’s Race and Ethnic Fairness Task Force Report #1 (see http://www.ncsconline.org/Projects_Initiatives/REFI/GA1REB.htm#Culture).  This report suggests that by creating reference guidelines, such as for the interaction between tribal and state court systems, some of the barriers between the two systems will be reduced or eliminated.

  • Judge’s Checklist: Reducing the Influence of Cultural Misinformation. This list is excerpted from the 1999 Family Violence Prevention Fund publication, “Cultural Considerations in Domestic Violence Cases: a National Judges’ Benchbook” by Maria Ramos

  • Martin, William E. and Thompson, Peter M. Judicial Toleration of Racial Bias: Introduction.  University of Dayton School of Law website.  Excerpts taken from “Judicial Tolerance of Racial Bias in the Minnesota Justice System.” 25 Hamline Law Review, Winter 2002.  Website contains information concerning race, racism and the law.  Includes links to other sites containing similar information.

  • A Judge’s Guide to Bias Free Court Proceedings: Minnesota Gender Fairness Implementation Committee.  Minnesota Gender Fairness Implementation Committee, Minnesota Implementation Committee on Multicultural Diversity and Fairness, Conference of Chief Judges, and Minnesota District Judges Association, 2000.

  • Reducing Racial Disparity in the Criminal Justice System – A Manual for Practitioners and Policymakers.  (see http://www.sentencingproject.org/pdfs/5079.pdf).  This comprehensive publication discusses the definition and importance of racial disparity, the causes of racial disparity, and the manifestations of racial disparity at key decision points in the justice system.  It also provides a research design to identify and understand racial disparity and offers options for reducing this disparity. 

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  1. Provide education and training 

Judicial and court staff awareness of the intricacies of customs, culturally derived mannerisms, and immigration or other laws affect the minority court user’s ability to achieve justice. A variety of educational programs and resource materials addressing cultural competence and sensitivity should be available for all levels of the court system (see, for example, Utah ’s system-wide diversity training in “Examples and Resources,” below). Courts should consider the following strategies to address cultural competence.  

  • Provide sensitivity or cultural awareness training sessions for judges, attorneys and court staff.  The programs are intended to provide judicial officers with methods to address and control bias in courts of law. New York ’s State Judicial Commission on Minorities identified four objectives for cross-cultural competence:

  1. the capacity to understand and appreciate different values, languages, dialects, cultures   and life styles;

  2. a capacity for empathy that transcends cultural differences;

  3. avoidance of conduct that may be perceived as demeaning, disrespectful, discourteous or insensitive to persons from other cultural groups; and

  4. a critical understanding of stereotypical thinking and a capacity for individualized judgment.

  • Develop educational guides, such as cultural desk books, to provide judges, attorneys, and court personnel with information to improve the court system’s ability to deliver bias free justice.  The guide could describe the needs of non-English speaking persons and the effective use of interpreters (See Subtopic II: Interpreter and Language Services) as well as relevant immigration and tribal laws. It could also include facts about other countries and/or cultures, such as family structures and customs, that may have relevance to the matter pending in the court and/or affect the ability of a litigant to receive bias free justice. The local bar may be willing to help the court with these efforts.

  • Assign employees with repeated offenses to additional educational programs tailored to address their problem areas.  The training could include a personal assessment (such as a racial bias indicator survey) and personal coaching as necessary to assist them in recognizing and understanding their personal biases in a non-threatening manner.

  • Conduct regular training sessions on the use of interpreters in the courtroom (See Subtopic II: Interpreter and Language Services).  Judges and those in quasi-judicial positions, including court-related boards and commissions, should be aware of their role and significance in ensuring an environment of equal opportunity and fairness.

  • Work with the other branches of government to develop common approaches to diversity training to both expand opportunities for training and lower the costs of training. In addition, this encourages other key justice system officials who are not under the direct authority of the Judicial Branch to obtain education as well.

  • Work with local colleges and universities to fund second language courses for court staff.  This well help to improve communication barriers with different ethnic groups and will therefore improve cultural competency.

 Examples and Resources

  • The National Center for State Courts has created a “Best or Promising Practices for Combating Bias in the Courts: Reference List,” including links to articles and other publications; organization websites; fact sheets and guidelines; and model programs, policies, and action plans (see http://www.ncsconline.org/WC/Education/KIS_RacFaiBestGuide.pdf).  The NCSC has also produced “Combating Bias in the Courts: Resource Guide,” which provides a host of additional resources for the courts on bias and fairness (see http://www.ncsconline.org/WC/Education/KIS_RacFaiGuide.pdf).

  • When Bias Compounds: Insuring Equal Justice for Women of Color in the Courts - A Model Judicial Education Curriculum.  New York , NY : National Judicial Education Program to Promote Equality for Women and Men in the Courts, June 1998.  Curriculum outline includes, why a program on women of color in the courts, cognitive process and the implications of stereotypes for women of color in the courts, controlling the courtroom and the courthouse, women of color as victims of gender-based violence, action planning, and the cultural defense and cultural experience.

  • Hewitt, William E. Managing Language Programs: A Court Interpreting Education Program for Judges, Lawyers, and Court Managers.  Williamsburg , VA : National Center for State Courts, 1997.

  • Nile, Lauren N.  Developing Diversity Training for the Workplace: A Guide for Trainers.  Washington , D.C. : National Multicultural Institute, 1994.

  • Utah’s Commission on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice System has established training for court personnel.  Their participant manual for “Achieving and Understanding Cultural Competency” is available at: http://www.juvenile.utah.gov/UMACCC/Participants Workbook/1 Module one participant handout.doc

  • New York’s Race and Ethnic Fairness Task Fore Report #1 (see http://www.ncsconline.org/Projects_Initiatives/REFI/NY1REB.htm).

  • California’s Race and Ethnic Fairness Task Force Report #1 (see http://www.ncsconline.org/Projects_Initiatives/REFI/CA1REB.htm#Culture).

  • Unequal Treatment in the Justice System. Williamsburg , VA : National Center for State Courts’ Public Trust and Confidence Forum, 2002, available at: http://www.ncsconline.org/Projects_Initiatives/PTC/UnequalTreatment.htm.

  • The California Access and Fairness Committee has completed various reports, studies, and training guides that address the needs of cultural competency, diversity and bias in the courts.

  • Richardson, John Gregory. Bias in the Court: Focusing on the Behavior of Judges, Lawyers and Court Staff in Court Interactions.  Williamsburg , VA : National Center for State Courts, 1997. 

  • The Court’s Image: Diversity Training for Court Administrators: Humane Court Management. Michigan Judicial Institute, 1992.

  • The Colorblind Justice Conference report by the Arizona Supreme Court answered the question: “Are we making culturally competent decisions?”  The session began by targeting relevant issues, such as: stereotypes, prejudgments, unfair treatment, and exploring what could be done by court employees to be more culturally sensitive. 

 

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  1. Work with the community to assist minorities with the court system

Lack of understanding about the court system creates barriers to justice and contributes to negative community perceptions of the court environment. Outreach programs help develop and foster mutual awareness in the court-community relationship. Such programs assist immigrant and culturally diverse communities to understand their rights and responsibilities, as well as court procedures and community concerns. They also foster good court and community relationships.  For example, the Todd County Community Hispanic Liaison Program in Minnesota features a mentoring program for Latino youth, English and Spanish classes, a summer reading project, and other programs to promote improved cultural awareness (see Chief Justice Blatz, Justice Lancaster to Celebrate Todd County ’s Hispanic Liaison Program in “examples and resources,” below). There are various methods courts can take to reach out to and seek help from the community. Examples of these strategies follow.

  • Identify and involve leaders of organizations that work with parts of the immigrant or refugee community in developing and implementing outreach programs such as community orientation and training sessions and classes in public school curricula.

  • Provide opportunities to discuss community concerns.  For example, Arizona ’s Race and Ethnic Fairness Task Force Report #2 recommended that community forums be established to engage minority communities in discussion of juvenile justice issues (see “Examples and Resources,” below). 

  • Create an office with the explicit purpose of providing public educational assistance.  For example, Kentucky ’s Office of Minority Affairs has developed several outreach initiatives, including the promotion of citizen participation in public forums (see Unequal Treatment in the Justice System in “examples and resources,” below). 

  • Develop an Office of the Ombudsperson to “assist all persons in understanding court processes, to secure interpretation services…to locate facilities (such as childcare facilities, where they exist)” and receive and attempt to resolve complaints about the court or court personnel (see New York’s Race and Ethnic Task Force Report #1 in “Examples and Resources,” below, and Ombudsman Resources from the “Adopt procedures to process public and inter-office complaints” strategy).

  • Work with the State Bar and local bar associations to develop public information programs and media campaigns to educate the community about the judicial system through various media, such as locally accessible television and radio programs (see California ’s Race and Ethnic Task Force Report #1 in “Examples and Resources,” below). 

  • Provide translated pamphlets, forms, instructions, and tape-recorded messages in the clerk’s or ombudsperson’s office.  Information on local dispute resolution alternatives should also be offered in multi-lingual format (see New York ’s Race and Ethnic Fairness Task Force Report #1 in “Examples and Resources,” below). 

  • Encourage law schools to become involved in outreach initiatives and to add diversity training to their curricula and to develop activities that improve the knowledge and responsiveness of students, lawyers and judges to issues of race and ethnicity in the workplace. Most law schools have organizations such as the Black Law Student Association that can work with the courts to identify and address issues of cultural sensitivity. 

  • Promote diverse juries. Poor jury representativeness plagues diverse communities. The State Bar of Michigan’s Open Justice Commission established a jury representation project to urge broad citizen participation in the legal system. Courts also could provide juror training on cultural sensitivity. New York ’s 8th Judicial District Committee developed a program to educate minority communities about the importance of jury service participation. New Mexico ’s Supreme Court Committee to Study Racial and Ethnic Fairness and Equality in the Courts investigated the potential for adding additional juror source lists to enhance representativeness of jury panels. (For more examples, see Unequal Treatment in the Justice System in “examples and resources,” below.)

 Examples and Resources

 

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  1. Establish task forces or commissions on race and ethnic bias

Establish a committee to identify problems in the courts and promote dialog on this ongoing, evolving issue. For example, Utah created an Implementation Committee to follow up on previous task force recommendations. Washington has created a Standing Committee on Public Trust and Confidence to ensure minority representation in the court system. The Arkansas Bar Association has created a Commission on Diversity to improve fairness and sensitivity in the legal profession (for more illustrations, see Unequal Treatment in the Justice System in “examples and resources,” below.)  

In light of the ever-changing cultural climate, the implementation of enduring committees is especially important for long-range cultural sensitivity efforts. Yearly reviews of community trends, cultural sensitivity efforts, and the court’s diversity offer opportunities to improve court efforts to maintain a culturally competent environment.

Examples and Resources

  • The NCSC has compiled the “Combating Bias in the Courts: Resource Guide,” which provides a host of additional resources for the courts on bias and fairness (see http://www.ncsconline.org/WC/Education/KIS_RacFaiGuide.pdf).

  • The Permanent Advisory Committee on Women and Minorities in the Courts.  Available at the Rhode Island Judiciary website: http://www.courts.state.ri.us/supreme/womenincourts.htm.

  • Unequal Treatment in the Justice System. Williamsburg , VA : National Center for State Courts’ Public Trust and Confidence Forum, 2002, available at: http://www.ncsconline.org/Projects_Initiatives/PTC/UnequalTreatment.htm.

  • The Oregon court system created the Access to Justice for All Committee to work with an ad hoc intergovernmental committee.  Together, they proposed a statewide structure to develop, coordinate, and implement strategies to improve state government’s cultural competence.  The Oregon Department of Administrative Services (DAS) approved the proposal and established a Cultural Competency Council in 2002.  The Oregon courts also have a “Cultural Competency and Gender Specific Services Coordinator” who attends conferences of state tribes.

  • The Colorado courts have a Multicultural Executive Committee as a permanent ‘arm’ of the court.  It was established in 1999 to address the needs of the growing minority population.  Some of its activities include: 1) educating court personnel on multicultural issues; 2) studying bail and sentencing outcomes of minorities; 3) helping pro se litigants from a multicultural angle; and 4) providing support to minorities involved in dispute resolution programs. 

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