A judge makes decisions within the confines of the law, trusting his/her instincts, and almost always in solitude. It requires good intellect and a strong and caring heart to administer justice. When we think of judges, we picture a wise and courageous leader, clad in a robe, making decisions while sitting on the bench. Yet, even a fair, just and wise judge will be poorly serving the community and justice if the court’s back office is not properly managed.
The disciplinary cases against judges over the last several years include a significant number of the cases involving the administrative functions of the court. Judicial misconduct was alleged in cases concerning judicial impropriety involving relationship with staff members, while other cases involve misconduct resulting from poor office management. A judge will not be able to discern truth and render a proper decision if a pleading is never considered because it is buried in a folder.
The National Center for State Courts offers an on-line course conducted by Daniel H. Straub, Ph.D., concerning court staff management for first-time supervisors. If a Judge is interested in taking this course, he/she should go to the Supreme Court website at courts.IN.gov/center and click on “Supreme Court Scholarship Program Application for Judges” on the right hand side of the screen. The course emphasizes that all jobs are important, including filing papers for the court. The court must properly manage the office paper flow in order to review pleadings, hear arguments, and issue an order.
Each judge should ask some questions in reviewing the court’s office management. A few that should be answered are:
- Do all employees know their importance to the goal of dispensing justice?
- Do all employees understand that they are the face of the court to the public?
- Do all employees embrace the philosophy that they are there to serve the attorneys, parties, and witnesses coming before the court?
- Do all employees realize that their job often includes assisting individuals who are under great personal stress?
- Do all employees know what you want to hear, need to hear, and cannot hear? And for matters that you cannot hear, do all employees know how to handle the communication so the problem is actually addressed?
- Do all employees know to inform you if anyone is making repeated calls on a motion and the docket shows that a ruling has not been made?
- Do all employees know what to do if a motion is presented and the file-folder for that case cannot be found?
- Have you ever asked for a file and your staff was not able to retrieve it immediately for you? If so, why?
- What procedure is there to make sure that no file remains buried in a basket for months?
In addition, having positive answers to the following questions will help insure a fully operational court:
- How does your staff determine who may have direct access to you?
- Do all employees know who to approach if there is a problem or concern?
- Are there any folders, files or boxes of loose papers anywhere in the court offices? Why?
- What is your method for assuring that there are timely rulings on motions and processing of cases? Do all your employees know that they have a role in insuring that justice is not delayed?
- Are you demanding the highest standards of performance from each member of your court staff, or letting poor performance slide because you don’t want to deal with it?
- Are the best employees given the most work, while the poorest performing employees are rewarded with fewer tasks?
- Are you addressing employee absenteeism issues when they occur and are you handling these issues consistently?
It is remarkable and gratifying that we have qualified, caring individuals willing and able to perform the noble tasks of a judge. Managing the office and employees of the court may seem petty compared to sitting behind the bench and determining legal issues. However, it is an illusion that office management is petty. While each judge has been trained through law school and law practice to do the job in the courtroom, law school curriculum rarely, if ever, includes office management training. Few attorneys in their practice have had to spend much time in managing staff. Yet when an attorney becomes a judge, office management becomes an important part of the duties. If you need assistance, I am available to assist you and there are also resources through the Indiana Judicial Center and the National Center for State Courts. Call on us.
Trial courts can seek advice on employment law issues by contacting Brenda Rodeheffer directly at (317) 234-3936 or