Reinventing Justice Initiative
FY2001 Public Trust and Confidence Mini-Grants
Fiscal Department

Program Purpose: The aim of the Reinventing Justice Initiative is to support innovations and improvements in the administration of justice in Massachusetts courts based on consultation with the community. Programs designed to accomplish this actively involve the community and court personnel in their planning and implementation. Programs, if successful, become integrated into the court's everyday routines and represent another step in their commitment to serving the public in a new, more responsive way.

History and Background of Program: In its 1992 report, Reinventing Justice: 2022, Chief Justice Paul J. Liacos' Commission on the Future of the Courts offered its vision of a 21st century court system that would be more accessible, affordable, accountable, comprehensive and user-friendly. The Commission described a justice system that must become more oriented to its users and must give paramount weight to the needs and interests of the public in order to perform its essential, historic role as an independent branch of government.

The first initiative of the SJC to reconnect the public and the courts and to implement the Reinventing Justice report was the creation, in March 1994, of the Franklin County Futures Lab Project which began as the idea of Hon. Thomas T. Merrigan, First Justice of the Orange District Court, and attorney Diane Esser of Greenfield, MA. The Project allowed Franklin County to be a "laboratory" for improving the administration of justice by inviting the public into the process of helping court personnel identify and solve administrative problems.

The success of the Franklin County Futures Lab Project led the SJC to pilot-test this initiative in additional types of locations, including at least one urban site. In 1996, the SJC selected Essex County, Hampshire County, and West Roxbury District Court as Reinventing Justice projects. Designated projects consult with the community by "asking, listening, and involving" the public and court personnel in the development and implementation of concrete, innovative projects which improve the courts' service to the public. In FY2001, responsibility for this Initiative was transferred to the Planning and Development Department of the Administrative Office of the Trial Court and the program was expanded to encourage additional courts to develop projects in their community that will engage the public in helping court personnel to create a more accessible, user-friendly and responsive institution.

FY2001 Mini-Grants: A total of $25,000 was made available to expand this initiative. Ten projects were funded for amounts ranging from $300 to $4,620. All grant funded activities were completed by June 30, 2001 and designed in such a way as to not require continued funding but rather to be incorporated into the court's daily activities. All courts were eligible to apply.

Funding Priorities: Applicants were encouraged to contact individuals with experience in implementing projects of this kind. Projects combined active involvement of court personnel responsible for interacting with the public with outreach initiatives designed to make the court and its role in the community more comprehensible to the public. Proposals included efforts that focus on regaining public trust, linking courts to its community via education or innovative means, or increasing community involvement in the criminal justice and sentencing process.

Selection Criteria:  Each application was reviewed and evaluated based on the following:

• Degree of innovation
• Extent to which the application and project activities show public involvement rather than simply promoting the court
• Evidence that there is a strong public need for the activity(-ies) proposed
• Involvement of community leaders and active use of volunteers
• Specific and comprehensive responses to all questions
• Balance in geographic representation of courts across the state