PUBLICATIONS

Stay Informed
Register with NCJRS to receive NCJRS's biweekly e-newsletter JUSTINFO and additional periodic emails from NCJRS and the NCJRS federal sponsors that highlight the latest research published or sponsored by the Office of Justice Programs.

NCJRS Abstract

The document referenced below is part of the NCJRS Virtual Library collection. To conduct further searches of the collection, visit the Virtual Library. See the Obtain Documents page for direction on how to access resources online, via mail, through interlibrary loans, or in a local library.

	NCJ Number:		NCJ 240002
	Title:		Courts Are Conversations: An Argument for Increased Engagement by Court Leaders
	URL(s):		PDF
	Author(s):		Garrett M. Graff
	Date Published:		10/2012
	Page Count:		12
	Annotation:		This paper examines the implications for court proceedings of the proliferation of technologies that have expanded conversations across previously separate worlds and made massive amounts of information accessible in more ways to more people.
	Abstract:		As a new generation has emerged with different expectations for conversations and interactions, courts face a challenge, i.e., how to listen to a public that now converses in different ways, on different platforms, and with different tools. The courts must address this issue on two levels: tactical and strategic. At the tactical level, courts must communicate more effectively with the public through internet sites like Facebook and Twitter about its operations, where to report for jury duty, when courts are open for business, etc. Courts benefit from this by improving court operations and positive experiences for the public. On the other hand, courts must also suppress some social media access in daily court proceedings. Just as jurors have been forbidden from reading newspapers, they must now be forbidden from using modern tools of information and opinion access while serving as jurors. The courts, however, can benefit from tapping into the multitude of media channels for obtaining information and visual access in testimony for minor traffic cases, which would save both the courts’ and litigants’ time and cost. The exploration of new efficiencies for resolving some cases are warranted. On the strategic level, the issue is how court leaders can engage with the public at a more thoughtful level. Traditionally, one of the unique attributes of the judiciary is its non-participation in traditional forums of questions and answers that enlighten the public on how its leaders view their roles and make their decisions. 33 references
	Main Term(s):		Court procedures
	Index Term(s):		Digital communications ; Community relations ; Information dissemination ; Court relations ; Communication techniques ; BJA Grant-related Documents
	Sponsoring Agency:		National Ctr for State Courts National Court Statistics Project United States of America Bureau of Justice Assistance US Dept of Justice Office of Justice Programs United States of America State Justice Institute United States of America
	Grant Number:		2007-DD-BX-K056
	Sale Source:		Harvard University John F Kennedy School of Government 79 John F. Kennedy Street Program in Criminal Justice Policy Management Cambridge, MA 02138 United States of America
	Type:		Research (Theoretical) ; Issue Overview ; Report (Grant Sponsored) ; Legislation/Policy Analysis
	Country:		United States of America
	Language:		English
	To cite this abstract, use the following link: https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=262076
*A link to the full-text document is provided whenever possible. For documents not available online, a link to the publisher's website is provided. Tell us how you use the NCJRS Library and Abstracts Database - send us your feedback.