Imagine
you are on a planet with no atmosphere.
Much like our moon there may be great mountains, stunning vistas,
sweeping plains, and more beauty than you could ever imagine. But with no atmosphere, you cannot experience
it to the fullest because you are forced to wear a protective space suit.
Sometimes
courts can come across the same way. Court
processes and services are designed to deliver fair and just results, but
sometimes, they end up depriving court users of a true sense of what they are
going through.
In
an effort to remedy that, procedural justice is fast becoming a guiding
principal to improve court services. Those
of us who are court employees continuously think in terms of “procedure” and
“justice” and so the idea that we would implement
procedural justice seems redundant.
However, in practice, procedural justice has very little to do with
procedure or justice and, in some ways, is contrary to the way we traditionally
view the role of courts and court employees.
Procedural
justice refers to the way people perceive the process rather than the actual process
itself. Studies show that people are
more likely to comply with results they do not like or agree with if they feel
the manner in which those results were achieved was fair. And the most important determiners of whether
a person perceives the process is fair are the people who conduct the process.
Thus,
even with all the tools available to us in the child support arena to ensure
people abide by their orders, the most important tool may be us.
Procedural
justice is important at every step in the process, not just in the
courtroom. From the first contact with a
person in the child support program until the end of the order, we are being
judged on whether the process is fair.
If we succeed, the people in the process will accept their
responsibilities even if they disagree with the end result. If we fail, we all will have a tougher time.
Procedural
justice relies on four basic principles, which often overlap:
·
The person must have a voice in the process;
·
The person must feel that the process is neutral;
·
The person must feel respected in the process,
and;
·
The person must understand the rules by
which decisions are made.
Voice.
Voice means the opportunity to have input in the decision. It is not enough merely to have the right to
speak. Rather, the person must have an
opportunity to tell their story in their own words and have a say in what they
feel the outcome should be. As part of
feeling they have a voice, it is important that people know that the decider is
sincerely listening and understanding what they are saying. For that reason, it is often useful to repeat
back to the person what it is that you hear.
In light of other principles in procedural justice, our response should
not put a positive or negative value on the person’s words; rather a simple
“what I hear you saying is…” will suffice.
Neutrality. Neutrality is having principled decision-makers
who make decisions based upon rules and not personal opinions. They must apply the rules consistently. The easiest way to demonstrate neutrality is
to be transparent and open about how the rules are being applied and how
decisions are being made. This may
require a little extra time to explain what the rule is.
Respect. We demostrate respect by affirming to people
that they are viewed as important and valuable and that both they and their
problems are taken seriously. So, if a
hearing officer is running late, an explanation and apology may be in order. Thanking people for doing something – even if
we expect them to do it -- will go a long way toward showing that we regard
people as important. Too often people
come into child support system confused about how cases are handled. They
usually talk to a minimum of three different offices and do not even realize
it. Providing information about what to
do, where to go, when to appear, and what will happen next demonstrates respect
for them and for their right to have their problems handled fairly.
Understanding or Trust. Understanding or trust is cultivated by
clearly describing the rules in how a decision is made. It is not enough to hold a hearing and make a
decision; nor is it useful to duplicate procedures other child support
professionals have done. The person
needs to understand why we are doing something, what rules we applied, and what
went into our decisions. Simply
explaining what will happen and then demonstrating that the result was reached
through that process develops trust in the process. Avoid using confusing
language or jargon. Jargon in particular leaves the impression that there are
rules that only an insider understands.
Here
are a few ways we can help deliver services that satisfy procedural justice
principles:
•
Create brochures or websites to help people understand where
to go, what to do, and what the rules are;
•
Be sincere and caring.
Have empathy for the person using our services;
•
Listen, and demonstrate you are doing so, by repeating back
key concepts. Ask if you understood
correctly;
•
Explain why you are doing what you are doing;
•
Apply rules consistently, both personally and within the
office;
•
Explain what is happening and explain how the result follows
from it;
•
Say please and thank you – often;
•
Use signs and help desks;
•
Tell people what to expect in terms of events, time, and
outcome;
•
Use plain English; and
•
Avoid acronyms.
Every day, our
courts and their staffs work hard to make fair decisions that impact many lives.
It would be a terrible misfortune if any of those people receive a fair
decision and are not able to appreciate the atmosphere of justice in which it
was delivered. Please feel free to share some of the ways your office is using
procedural justice to get better outcomes and serve the public better and we
may highlight them in future issues of the PUNDIT.
If you have any
questions about how your office can begin to implement procedural justice
concepts in your office, please contact Steve Capps or Paul Gehm at (517)
373-5975 or focb-info@courts.mi.gov.
