Litigation

Essay: ?Lack of Trust Undermines Our Courts?

By Peter Hardin

Pennsylvanians have been served up a full menu of news articles lately about questionable judicial ethics, policies on gifts to judges and such benefits as car leases for certain judges.

In the wake of these reports, our friends at Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts have written a thoughtful commentary in the Philadelphia Inquirer, entitled “Judges must increase confidence of public: Lack of trust can undermine court’s foundations.”

Shira Goodman and Lynn A. Marks engage not in judge-bashing but instead in searching for ways to bridge the confidence gap, which they label a “disconnect,” between the public and the courts. Here is how they capsulize the issue:

“Both judges and members of the public are frustrated that those on the other side of the bench don’t seem to understand the key points. As this disconnect persists, collaboration between those who use the courts and those who work in the courts becomes more elusive.”

How can the gap be narrowed? A couple of the authors’ key points are excerpted here. First, judges already have tough jobs, the authors contend, but they need to confront the importance of public perceptions and work to boost public confidence in the courts:

“Even if the public’s concern about judicial bias is over-blown, judges know that the true power of the courts is rooted in the public’s perception and public confidence in fair and impartial justice. When that confidence is undermined – whether for good reason or not – the foundation of our justice system is shaken. Judges cannot allow that to happen. They should take responsibility for understanding public perception and working to maintain and increase public confidence.

“This does impose additional obligations on judges, who already have demanding jobs. But it is a critical part of the judicial function.”

And second, the authors say, judges must make an effort to understand what the public is thinking:

“It is not sufficient to bemoan the lack of public understanding. Judges must work to understand what the public believes and why. Even if those beliefs seem unreasonable, judges must understand that they have a tremendous impact on whether or not the public has faith in its courts.”

Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts is a Justice at Stake partner. To learn about some of the judicial ethics issues that have been raised in Pennsylvania, check out Gavel Grab.

Full post as published by The Gavel on December 30, 2010 (boomark / email).