Justice 2002 is the strategic agenda for the Arizona Judicial Department. The four goals of the agenda including Protecting Children, Families, and Communities; Providing Access to Swift, Fair Justice; Connecting with the Community; and Being Accountable.

            This agenda is a blueprint created to increase the public's trust in the court system, to inspire confidence that individual rights are being protected, and to ensue that all citizens are being treated fairly.

Justice 2002 - Building Trust and Confidence In Arizona Courts

• Protecting Children, Families, & Communities
• Providing Access to Swift, Fair Justice
• Connecting With the Community
• Being Accountable

Protecting Children Families & Communities

            Courts protect Arizona's children, families, and communities by providing them an independent, neutral forum for resolving disputes; limiting the arbitrary use of government power to take their liberty, property, children, or life; and by dispensing justice in a fair and equitable manner.

           For example, the courts will better serve these groups by improving how children and families are served in family law matters; ensuring that juvenile detention facilities are available, safe, and secure; and delivering probation services that provide public protection and offender accountability.

Providing Access to Swift, Fair Justice

            Citizens, victims, litigants, and defendants deserve access to a fair and swift process for resolving civil or criminal disputes.

            The court system must help ensure that resources are adequate and that court procedures, policies, and practices are consistent with this goal.

Connecting With the Community

            Courts and judges should be independent and free of outside influence when deciding cases. Cases should be decided based on the law and case merits, regardless of the involved parties' economic or political status. However, judges can and should be involved in their communities.

            The Judicial Department will implement programs to improve how it listens to communities and establish effective methods of communication between citizens and the courts.

Being Accountable

            The court system must use taxpayer resources wisely and achieve desired results.

            This objective requires establishing and meeting court standards, linking performance with budget, maintaining ongoing strategic planning, and continuing judicial performance review.

Implementation

Protecting Children, Families, & Communities

• Implement statewide a reengineered case processing system to reduce the time abused and neglected children spend in out-of-home placement. (Model Court)
• Provide safe and secure juvenile detention facilities.
• Provide a balanced approach to supervising probationers in the community.
• Increase collection of restitution and probation fees, and ensure fulfillment of community service hours from probationers.
• Expedite hearings to revoke probation of offenders who refuse to comply with probation conditions.
• Apprehend probationers who fail to appear as ordered and those who leave the county or state without the court's permission.
• Provide probation services to Limited Jurisdiction Courts for persons convicted of domestic violence, driving while intoxicated, and sex offenses.
• Provide drug and alcohol treatment programs for those probationers who are substance abusers.
• Implement statewide drug court programs to reduce drug related recidivism.
• Improve child support collections management by centralizing/privatizing the child support payment system.
• Create a Family Court Commission to study the effectiveness of courts in dealing with legal matters involving children and families.
• Partner with other government and community agencies to create violence prevention programs, such as the "Violence Prevention Initiative."
• Implement a private fiduciary program that trains, certifies and investigates court appointed guardians, conservators, and personal representatives of the elderly, mentally incapacitated, and other vulnerable citizens.

Providing Access to Swift, Fair Justice

            Strive to process 90% of criminal cases within 100 days of filing by reengineering criminal case processing and by increasing resources for courts, prosecutors and public defenders. (Fill the Gap)

• Eliminate barriers to accessing the court by reducing costs and providing information and assistance to people who come to court. (CourtHelp)
• Provide legal advice hotlines for domestic violence, domestic relations, and juvenile issues. (Similar to Elder Law Hotline)
• Implement a Public Access Line (PAL), a toll free service to provide general court related information to the public.
• Customer service training.
• Forms on demand available on Judicial Department's Self Service Center Web site.
• Provide adequate and safe court facilities for citizens and employees.
• Develop integrated justice information systems.
• Examine how the practice of law (e.g., rules of practice and procedure, discovery practices, etc.) increase the cost to accessing justice.
• Recruit, train, and retain a quality workforce.

Connecting With the Community

• Develop opportunities for effective communication between the courts and the community.
• Conduct citizen summits.
• Increase information provided through the Internet.
• Continue the "View from the Bench" program that matches legislators and judges for sharing information and better understanding of each others' roles.
• Design an ongoing customer-satisfaction survey system.
• Establish local citizen advisory councils to provide input on court operations.
• Develop opportunities for juveniles to view the court system such as taking the court to school/or school to court.
• Enhance the perception as well as the reality of fairness and equality in the judicial system.
• Reexamine the Code of Judicial Conduct as it relates to judges' public involvement.

Being Accountable

• Implement standards of performance for trial courts.
• Implement a process of strategic planning to set goals and monitor performance.
• Provide citizens sufficient information on judicial performance to use in judicial retention elections.
• Implement a reengineered lawyer discipline system that will provide prompt, fair resolution of complaints.
• Increase the number of public members serving on the courts' various policy-making committees.
• Improve the professionalism of judges and attorneys.
• Ensure enforcement of court orders and rules.
• Ensure victims' rights are addressed.