Released on Tuesday, December 21, 2021.
The preliminary results from NACM’s Voice of the Profession survey have revealed this year’s number one issue: Public Confidence in the Courts. Over 95% of those responding reported that they either agreed or strongly agreed that NACM needs to advocate on behalf of the courts regarding the public’s confidence in our court system. This result is no surprise. The 2021 National Center for State Courts “State of the Courts” survey conducted this past October reported that public trust and confidence in the courts has sunk to a new low: 64%.
A common response to this issue is “we need more public outreach.” If we could just explain what we do and why we did it, the community would immediately embrace the court’s central role in society. This has been disparagingly referred to as the “to know us is to love us” approach. The community may actually know more about the courts than we think and yet remain less than satisfied. Here are three examples of why the public might have a negative impression of courts:
1. Many folks, including our fellow court professionals, think that courts are too complicated, particularly for self-represented litigants
2. Excessive fines, surcharges, and user fees that courts pile on can hobble defendants guilty of relatively minor crimes
3. Courts can exhibit subtle yet systemic bias against people of color, the mentally ill, and the poor
Some of the questions we will explore this month include:
- Why do we think the public’s confidence in the courts is declining?
- What can and should courts do about this lack of confidence?
- What is NACM’s role in addressing this challenge?
- What advice do these court professionals have for the rest of us?
Today’s panel includes:
- Samantha Wallis, Assistant Court Administrator for the District Court, in Coeur d’Alene Idaho
- Greg Lambard, Trial Court Administrator for the Superior Court in Middlesex Vicinage, New Jersey
- Danielle Trujillo, Court Administrator for the Municipal Court in Littleton, Colorado
Click here to listen to the podcast. The audio runs 23 minutes 35 seconds. The video runs 24 minutes 29 seconds.
Leave a question or comment about the episode at clapodcast@nacmnet.org.
Show Notes
Samantha Wallis
Samantha grew up in Idaho, where she attended the University of Idaho to obtain her B.S. in Anthropology. She went on to obtain her M.S. in International Relations at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. She has worked for the courts since 2017 where she is currently the Assistant Trial Court Administrator for the First Judicial District of Idaho. In her spare time she loves traveling, trivia, and the outdoors.
Greg Lambard
Greg Lambard began his career with the State of New Jersey in 1991 after obtaining a BA in Criminal Justice from the University of Maryland and a MA in Criminal Justice from Rutgers University. He has served in the State Judiciary in various administrative roles and as a researcher/statistician. Additionally, he served two years in the New Jersey Governor’s Office, as Special Assistant to the State’s Chief Information Officer.
He has worked in the New Jersey Judiciary in the Essex County Criminal Division, AOC-Family Practice Division, in the Morris County Family, Operations, and Criminal Divisions (serving as Division Manager in each), in the Burlington County Probation Division as Chief Probation Officer, and currently serves as the Trial Court Administrator for the Middlesex County Superior Court. He is President of the Mid-Atlantic Association for Court Management and a Past Director on the Board of the National Association for Court Management. He has served as a member of the Advisory Committee to the National Center for State Courts’, Pretrial Justice and the State Courts Initiative, and a member of the National Judicial Opioid Task Force.
Danielle Trujillo
Danielle Trujillo is an innovative public safety professional with an exceptional ability to research and analyze complex issues and provide actionable conclusions. Through problem solving and critical thinking she utilizes a multidisciplinary approach to bridge gaps in information and processes. DanielIe started her career in restorative justice and love the ability to directly serve my community through local government.
