Courts and Confidence: Does the Public Look at Different Courts Differently?

Court Leader's Advantage

November 15th 2022, Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode

The public’s perception of our courts continues to be a topic of concern and curiosity for court professionals. Last month we discussed finding of the National Center for State Courts 2021 State of the State Courts survey that found that public trust in the courts had declined to 64% from a high in 2018 of 76%. This month we will take a deeper dive into several areas of interest:

· How much influence does “the ability to be heard in court” affect the public’s perception?

· Does the public look at the different levels of the court differently?

· What role do lawyers play in promoting differing views between general jurisdiction and limited jurisdiction courts?

· How does the development of remote hearings play into caseflow efficiency and the public’s perception?

Today’s Cohost

Stacy Worby, State Jury Coordinator for the Alaska Court System. In that capacity she is responsible for the coordination and operation of the centralized processes for the court’s jury management systems. Additionally, she provides jury procedure training and guidance for personnel in 40 court locations statewide.

Today’s Panel

· The Honorable Yvette Alexander, Judge with the City Court in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Judge Alexander earned a B.A. in Political Science from Grambling State University and earned a J.D. from the LSU Law Center in 1979. After law school, she worked as counsel for the Louisiana State Legislature, Louisiana State Senate, East Baton Rouge Parish Public Defender’s Office and was an Assistant Attorney General for the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office.

· The Honorable Ed Spillane, Judge with the Municipal Court in College Station, Texas. He has served in this position since May 2002. Prior to this, he served as an Assistant District Attorney for Brazos County for eight years and as an associate for the law firm Fulbright & Jaworski for two years. Judge Spillane received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University, and his law degree from the University of Chicago.

· Rick Pierce, Judicial Programs Administrator for the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts. Rick has served in the field of court administration for the past twenty-nine years. Prior to his appointment at the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, Rick was the district court administrator for Cumberland County. Prior to his 4 ½ year tenure as court administrator.

· Kent Pankey, Senior Planner for the Supreme Court of Virginia. Kent received a B.A. in Political Science from Hampden-Sydney College and a J.D. from the College of William and Mary. He is an ICM Fellow (Class of 1999) and a certified ICM instructor for the courses Accountability and Court Performance, Executive Decision Making, Leadership, Modern Court Governance, and Visioning and Strategic Planning.

· Sarah Brown-Clark, elected Clerk of Court for the Municipal Court in Youngstown, Ohio. Sarah is a 1971 cum laude graduate of Ohio University with a B.S. degree in English; she also earned her M.A. degree in English from Ohio University in 1972 and earned hours towards a Ph.D. in English from Kent State University.