In Support of Ongoing Efforts to Promote Community Engagement
Resolution 6: In Support of Ongoing Efforts to Promote Community Engagement
WHEREAS, the Conference of Chief Justices ("CCJ") and the Conference of State Court Administrators recognize that public trust and confidence in the judiciary is critical to the effective and efficient administration of justice; and
WHEREAS, the Conferences recognize that public trust and confidence in American democratic institutions, including both state and federal courts, has in recent years been declining, particularly within traditionally marginalized and disenfranchised communities; and
WHEREAS, public opinion research conducted by the National Center for State Courts has documented that eroding trust; and
WHEREAS, the Conference of Chief Justices established the Community Engagement in the State Courts Initiative and conducted national listening tours to capture, in person, concerns of marginalized and disenfranchised communities; and
WHEREAS, the goal of the project is to engage socioeconomically disadvantaged, underserved communities, in order to help advance understanding of how courts can best collaborate with these communities to address structural, institutional, and other problems which undermine trust and confidence in the courts; and
WHEREAS, the mission of the initiative is to develop effective tools and resources that assist state court leaders in engaging marginalized and disenfranchised communities to ensure equal access to justice for all, and to improve the trust and confidence those communities have in state courts to protect their individual rights and liberties and resolve disputes fairly; and
WHEREAS, six courts across the states and territories participated in pilot projects aimed at improving public trust and confidence within minority and socioeconomically disadvantaged communities;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Conferences recognize the multi-year efforts of the Community Engagement in the State Courts Initiative; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Conferences encourage members to:
- Draw on resources developed by the Community Engagement Initiative (available online at ncsc.org/engage);
- Recognize that the activities and resulting tools of the six pilot jurisdictions provide varied blueprints for other courts that wish to embark upon similar journeys; and
- Commit to making community engagement an enduring piece of their public outreach and civic education efforts; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Conferences wish to extend their sincere thanks for the hard work of all participants in assuring the success of the initiative, and especially recognize Dr. Lisa PytlikZyllig of the University of Nebraska Public Policy Center; Dr. Joe Hamm of Michigan State University; and Dr. Alan Tomkins of the National Science Foundation, for their leadership, advice and counsel.
Adopted as proposed by the CCJ/COSCA Public Engagement, Trust, and Confidence Committee at the CCJ/COSCA Annual Meeting on August 2, 2023.