
Justice Zlaket Arizona Chief Justice Thomas Zlaket talked about his state’s accomplishments and plans for the future many of which were similar to Florida’s as well as his state’s “building blocks initiative,” which has been utilized in several other states. The five components of the initiative include: conducting research on over-representation of minorities in the courts; analyzing decision-making in the system; becoming advocates for minority youths in the system; building constituencies for change in minority communities; and developing communication strategies on behalf of the court system. June 15, 2001 Assistant Editor Regular News National leaders meet to discuss bias in the courts National leaders meet to discuss bias in the courts Amy K. Brown Assistant Editor See also: Can Florida’s courts reflect the diversity of the state?Consortium participants told Judges can make a difference in a young person’s lifeIn 1988, only four states had commissions on racial and ethnic bias in the courts — New York, New Jersey, Washington, and Michigan. In 2001, the number of states with such commissions is nearly seven times that.Twenty states with commissions were represented last month at the 13th Annual National Consortium of Task Forces and Commissions on Racial and Ethnic Bias in the Courts, along with several federal judicial circuits, Puerto Rico, and two Canadian provinces. In all, 26 states in the country have such task forces. “Increasing minority access to the courts is the one area in which we must make the strongest effort,” Zlaket told conference participants. “This is the one that can bring us to our knees.”New Mexico Chief Justice Patricio Serna, the only Hispanic chief justice in the U.S., told of his state’s sensitivity training, drug courts, pro se litigant program, mentoring program for minority attorneys, and task force to restore public confidence in the court system. In addition, New Mexico is the first state to institute a large project to test racial and ethnic fairness in the courts through coordinated community outreach efforts, such as town meetings.Serna’s driving force for change is a quote by former Mexican President Colonel Porfirio Diaz, who led his people to independence in the famous Cinco de Mayo battle “Respect for the rights of others is peace.”Representatives from each state participating in the National Consortium presented their “best practices” report, outlining their state’s most successful programs. Several states told of innovative programs that may eventually be tested in Florida, such as “court concierges” to lead citizens through the court system and premium pay for bilingual court employees.Education programs focusing on Florida programs included “Increasing Diversity on the Bench: Issues Relating to the Appointment and Election of Judges “ and “Panel of Minority Girls Who Have Been Involved in the Dependency and Delinquency Systems.”“We’re proud to have been selected to host this national conference,” said Wells. “It has been a substantial undertaking, and we certainly count this as one of the highlights of our recent efforts regarding racial and ethnic fairness.” The National Consortium’s annual meeting in May brought together people from all facets of the justice system to exchange information about special projects instituted by the commissions in each state. From the chief justice of New Mexico to the assistant court administrators from various circuits in Florida, everyone came to gather ideas for their own court programs and share details of their projects for use by other courts.Through three days of educational programs that fell under the theme “The Experiences of Minority Women and Children in the Justice System,” several of Florida’s diversity programs were highlighted.“There is no bedrock principle with which I am more committed than that each person who comes in contact with our courts is deserving of being treated with dignity, courtesy, respect, and competence. And in many ways, we make this happen by diversity in the courts,” Wells said.Florida’s commitment to diversity and history of minorities and women taking the reins of national organizations were praised by several speakers, including the consortium moderator, Veronica Simmons McBeth, judge of the Los Angeles Municipal Court. McBeth noted that two Floridians, Martha Barnett and Evett Simmons, are currently serving as president of the American Bar Association and National Bar Association, respectively. Justice Wells “We have come a great distance in a short time in our courts,” said Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Wells, who invited the National Consortium to meet in Orlando. “Courts are slow to change. We are, and by necessity need to be, institutions of stability. We are here this week to talk about how, within an institution that has to remain stable, we have to also be the avant-garde of change in matters that have to do with serving an ever-more diverse and changing community.” “I’m happy to be a Floridian because we have some tremendous, independent justices who have taken on the world, and said to the world, `I don’t care what you think about me. I’m going to rule the way I believe, because this is the way I’ve been ruling on previous issues, and I believe it is good for the people, for the citizens of Florida. I’m going to be consistent, whatever the political fallout might be.’ I’m proud to be in Florida because of that,” said Simmons, who also spoke at the consortium. Evett Simmons Florida’s success is by no means an ending point, agreed Simmons and Wells. They, like representatives from other states, attended the National Consortium to collect ideas from other states in order to continue increasing diversity and access to the courts.“I challenge each of you, when you return home, to take from this conference a leadership role back to your courts, and more importantly, back to your communities on these troubling matters of how we’re going to develop and keep a respect for the rule of law,” said Wells.The consortium’s keynote speaker, Percy Luney, the recently named dean of Florida A&M’s new law school, continued this message.“We have to teach respect for the rule of law. You have got to sell the public. You have got to tell young people `You can be fair.’ Everything coming from the media works against what you’re trying to achieve,” he said.“The media is a tool which you, as judges, have to take advantage of to get your message out. When you have an opportunity to go into middle or high schools, I encourage you to take it. You can do more to affect public confidence by reaching out and enhancing your role in the future,” said Luney.Wells continued his praise of Florida’s progress in the consortium’s Chief Justices’ Roundtable, which included the chief justices of New Mexico and Arizona, Patricio Serna and Thomas Zlaket, respectively, and the chief judge of Washington, D.C., Annise Wagner.Wagner, who moderated the session, will become chair of the Conference of Chief Judges/Justices in summer 2001.After commenting on the necessity for equal access to the courts, Wells highlighted Florida programs he was particularly proud of and for which provisions were made in the Florida Supreme Court Racial and Ethnic Bias Study Commission report 10 years ago.Simultaneously with the National Consortium, the Supreme Court held a Florida symposium, with each trial and appellate court in the state represented by a team of judges and court staff. Each court has been asked to conduct an assessment of the racial and ethnic issues in their respective courts and prepare a local action plan of how they will address those issues.One of Florida’s shining accomplishments, according to Wells, is the establishment of drug courts. They were endorsed by the state’s Racial and Ethnic Bias Study Commission in 1991, when the programs were still in their infancy, and today have expanded to include 60 operational drug courts, with another 19 in the planning stages. The drug court model is also being used in the juvenile and dependency divisions.“I’m excited about the opportunities these drug courts provide for both the adults and juveniles who come in contact with the courts,” Wells said. “We have taken considerable steps in the past decade, and we have committed within the three branches to attempt to work in the area of problem-solving courts.”Last year, the State Courts System Equal Employment Opportunity Committee proposed, and the Supreme Court subsequently adopted, new personnel rules designed to increase the diversity of court staff by providing for equity in the selection and hiring of court employees. Trial and appellate courts are now required to report demographics of staff and information regarding their minority recruitment efforts on a regular basis.The Florida Court Education Council recently adopted the report and recommendations of its Special Committee on Evaluation and Administration of Existing Judicial Education Programs, which requires the council to identify and develop model curriculums for critical education areas. Some currently identified areas include: racial, ethnic, cultural, and religious diversity; elder abuse; Americans with Disabilities Act; professionalism; substance abuse; mental health/mental illness; judicial ethics; and fairness (improving judicial decision-making by eliminating bias).In 1999, the Supreme Court Commission on Fairness, in cooperation with the Trial Court Administrators Education Committee, received grant funding from the State Justice Institute to provide training for court staff, including the preparation of skilled trainers in every circuit.Florida courts now offer a two-day orientation and training program for interpreters of all languages, and Rules of Judicial Administration have been proposed to provide for certification, discipline, and continuing education of court interpreters. Technologically advanced courtrooms throughout the state are also increasing the accessibility and quality of court interpreters.The Florida Bar’s efforts are not to be overlooked, said Wells, as diversity on the other side of the bench is just as important to the equal access doctrine. The Bar’s All Bar Conference devoted to diversity issues, the creation of the Equal Opportunities Law Section, and the efforts of the Commission on Professionalism are just a handful of ways the Bar has aided in the court’s efforts.“All in all, we recognize that we have much, much to do in Florida, but we’re very proud that we have our focus on these issues. We’re going to continue to diligently work on them,” Wells concluded.
