Procedural Fairness For Courts and Judges   resource and discussion on procedural fairness

Four national court organizations released a Procedural Fairness Bench card for trial judges today. The bench card can be found under the new “Bench Card” tab on the front page of our website, ProceduralFairness.org. Or you can just click this link to go directly to the bench card. It’s also being printed as the back cover of the issue of Court Review that’s now in the mail to American Judges Association members.

The bench card is a joint product of the American Judges Association, the Center for Court Innovation, the National Center for State Courts, and the National Judicial College.

The bench card tries to answer the key questions a trial judge might have about procedural fairness (also known as procedural justice):

• What is it? It’s a set of evidence-based practices that lead to better acceptance of court decisions, a more positive view of individual courts and the justice system, and greater compliance with court orders. The bench card begins by explaining six closely connected elements of procedural fairness.
• Why is it important? Rigorous studies have shown that both acceptance of court decisions and overall approval of the court system are much more closely connected to perceptions of procedural fairness than to other factors.
• Can it be measured? Yes, and the bench card provides links to measurement tools that judges and courts can use.
• How do I do it? One full side of the bench card describes specific things trial judges can do to practice procedural fairness in court.
• Where can I get more information? The bench card also provides links to websites that provide more in-depth materials and to six specific publications.