NCJ Number
220755
Journal
Criminology & Public Policy Volume: 6 Issue: 4 Dated: November 2007 Pages: 799-806
Date Published
November 2007
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This essay argues that recent research results provide a foundation for court self-improvement based on the monitoring of key aspects of court performance, including access, fairness, timeliness, and managerial effectiveness.
Abstract
Courts can be comparatively assessed with the same criteria because they share similar caseload responsibilities and a basic orientation in processing individual cases. The Trial Court Performance Standards (TCPS) constitute a milestone in the development of a conceptual strategy in examining the performance of courts and the justice system. With the TCPS, timeliness is supplemented by other values, such as access and fairness and a generally broader notion of accountability than is implied by timeliness alone. The primary challenge that remains is the development of a workable set of measures that facilitates success in meeting fundamental goals that have been determined. Toward this end, the National Center for State Courts, working with a group of leading court practitioners, released "CourTools," a set of 10 indicators and methods for measuring performance. The choice and formulation of the 10 CourTools measures are shaped by 3 interrelated criteria: fundamental court values, a balanced perspective on the work of the court, and feasibility and sustainability in applications. CourTools' initial implementation efforts have highlighted three ways in which courts gain benefits from the tools. First, courts have established a connection between lofty mission statements and the tangible ways in which public resources are used. Second, they win over stakeholders; and third, they create a "road map" for the future. In order to put CourTools into place, court executive teams have focused on three major steps of implementation: the identification of performance objectives, the setting of priorities, and sharing the results. Correctly calculating measures of performance depends on accurate data entry and sufficiently flexible automated data processing systems. 8 references