Building the Capacity for Justice System Innovation

Building the Capacity for Justice System Innovation

Bonnie Rose Hough

Center for Families, Children & the Courts

of the Administrative Office of the Courts

California

California – in round numbers

• 38 million residents• 5.6 million – population in poverty• More than 40% of residents speak a language

other than English at home• 2,000 judges• 58 counties

– Los Angeles -10 million residents – Alpine - 1,500 residents

• State court budget cut by 1/3 in last 4 years

Why do California courts care?

• 70% of divorce cases involve at least one person without an attorney at beginning of a case – 80% by the end of a case

• 90% of domestic violence cases involve no attorneys

• 90% of tenants in eviction cases don’t have attorneys – 30% of landlords don’t

• Many people start by going to court rather than to a lawyer

Since 1997

• State funds increase – from 0 - $40 million • Vast majority of those SRLs are getting some

level of assistance – often appropriate level• Cultural changes –

– Partnerships between court and legal aid– Judges – much more comfortable in role– Bar generally supportive – increasingly unbundling– Court staff – providing information, focus on

helping people through system

People with legal needs

• Over 1 million people served per year• 4 million users of the self-help website• Happier with court system • Getting their cases resolved• Generally take less time than attorneys • Getting referrals to appropriate help including

counsel

Lessons learned #1

• There is a unity of interest between courts and public in providing assistance to help people handle their court case

Year Service ProvidedGuardianship

Hearing Continuances

2002 1-on-1 assistance 39

2003 1-on-1 assistance 7

2004 None 402

2005 None 366

2006 Workshops 98

2007 Workshops 118

2008 Workshops 180

Guardianship Assistance

Lessons Learned #2

• It is easier to change systems and provide extensive education for

• 2,000 judges • 160,000 court staff

than 38,000,000 potential represented litigants

New skills and changing expectations

• Smartest person is one who helps people address their legal need – not the one who can find the most errors

• Smartest person is one who can figure out how to explain complicated concepts in plain language – not one who knows all legal terms

• Not a Perry Mason judge – often more of a facilitated discussion

Procedural Fairness

• Research findings show that people tend to care more about how they were treated by the system than by the outcome itself

- Voice (feel like they got to tell their story)- Respect (litigants feel respected)- Understanding (litigants understood process,

what to do)- Helpfulness (litigants believe court trying to be

helpful)

Education

Benchguide

Role Play

On-line, just in time education

Resources for referrals

Use research to support education

Lesson Learned 3 - Welcome trips to the doctor

• Technical language• Not at one’s best• Often big complicated buildings• Potentially high stakes - but often not

(when was the last time you had a lobotomy?)

Things to consider

• How are you directed? • How long do you wait?• How are you treated?• How are they doing triage? • How well do the providers seem to work

together?• What guidance do you get for aftercare?• How do they work with the lay helper?

Ideas

• Prescription pads between services• Tourguide – self-assessment tool for courts• Checklists • Signage• Handouts on next steps – referral to websites• Education on active listening – permission to

be kind

Lesson learned #4 – continue to evolve

Identify what issues you are trying to resolve – preferably from user perspective

Try new solutions

Evaluate and continue to refine

Share findings – learn from others

Develop system for passing knowledge to new staff

Workshops

Case management

• Build automated check-in points into case management system

• Send email / text message / mail to litigants who haven’t completed steps alerting them about that and referring to self-help

• Judge looks at every court hearing as settlement opportunity

Self-Represented Litigant Days

• Schedule cases involving self-represented litigants for one calendar

• Get as many resources as possible into that courtroom – self-help, mediation, legal aid, relevant social services, etc. and work to get cases resolved

• Great pro bono work for attorneys – short, focused, tangible

Simplify

Lesson 5 – Provide staff support

• Carve some money from direct service to provide coordination, education, support for volunteer leadership

• Use that person to get others engaged• Be strategic about who is best to do what work

– Volunteer leadership v. staff

Role of court self help attorney

• Not only providing direct legal assistance and information

• But voice with the judges and administration about what changes need to be made to appropriately respond to the needs of low income people coming before the court

Lesson 6 – A little seed money goes a long way

• Allows interested people to get together• Leverages other resources• Identifies project that needs to be done

Lesson 7 – Use technology for what it’s good for

– Computers: • Remembering facts (e.g., asks a question only once)• Applying rules consistently• Creating beautiful paperwork

– People:• Triage• Teaching and communicating emotional support

KEY IDEAS• Boundaries are rapidly changing• Doesn’t have to work for everyone unless you don’t

offer other services

Advocates or self-represented litigants answer questions during an interview.

A personalized document is created from the answers.

The answers can be saved and reused.

Support for using on-line tools