Interim 2008 Access and Fairness Report     Trial Court Issues Interim Report on Access and Fairness Survey   An interim report on the Access and Fairness Survey initiative now underway statewide has been compiled to summarize results for 2008 through June 30th. Attorneys, litigants, jurors, witnesses and probationers are just some of the public users of the court who have participated in the survey, which will be completed at every courthouse by year end.   The initiative was launched in the Worcester Trial Court in March and by the end of June more than 3,300 individuals in 28 courthouses had taken the time to complete the nationally-developed survey, which includes questions on courthouse accessibility, clarity of forms, attentiveness of staff, and fairness of proceedings. By mid-August more than 5,600 individuals in 53 courthouses, including the totals for 2007 survey project in the Boston Municipal Court, had participated in this effort to seek public comment.   “Overall, the survey results reflect the focus on quality justice across the Trial Court,” Chief Justice for Administration and Management Robert A. Mulligan noted in the report. “As we extend the survey to the remaining courthouses across the state, we anticipate similar positive experiences and we will begin to identify ways to respond to this valuable data.”   An implementation team comprised of representatives from each court department has coordinated the planning and logistics for this initiative. Their efforts along with the cooperation and support of Trial Court leaders and employees have been instrumental to the successful use of the survey, one of ten CourTool metrics developed by the National Center for State Courts to evaluate court operations.     Return to the Home Page