“We Want to Hear from You!” Municipal Courts Survey Kiosk Project
In 2020, TMCEC and LaGratta Consulting, LLC with support by the State Justice Institute led a court user feedback project founded on the concept of procedural fairness, built upon studies showing that how court users feel they are treated has a significant impact on their perceptions of fairness and their voluntary compliance with court decisions and orders.
Among the key dimensions of procedural fairness is Voice or feeling like you had a chance to be heard. Though many courts have made meaningful improvements to their procedural justice practices, few courts have efficient and effective ways to solicit and utilize input from court users about their experience. Court user feedback serves a dual purpose by giving voice to court users, while also helping courts benchmark their success in improving experiences.
This project set out to test new ways for courts to collect and learn from court user feedback. Municipal courts from seven cities were selected as pilot sites: Colleyville and Keller (a joint court shared by two cities), Del Rio, Fort Worth, Lubbock, San Antonio, Seguin, and West Lake Hills.
Through this project, TMCEC and LaGratta Consulting developed a national toolkit and other resources available below. The “We Want to Hear From You!” toolkit outlines lessons from the project. Seven courts piloted new approaches to collecting real-time court user feedback via iPads and email links. For more information, contact emily@lagratta.com or metteauer@tmcec.com.
Please check out the following resources for your court:
- We Want to Hear from You! A Toolkit for Collecting and Learning from Court User Feedback
- Project Summary (2 Pages)
- One-page Project Handout: Can court user feedback help courts measure and improve court fairness?
Texas Municipal Court Face of Justice:
Building Trust and Confidence Through Model Court Websites & Signage
In 2018, the Texas Municipal Courts Education Center (Austin, Texas) received a grant from the State Justice Institute (Reston, Virginia) to work with the Center for Court Innovation (Brooklyn, New York) to develop models of effective websites and court signage that reflect the concepts of procedural justice.
Permission is granted to municipal courts to adapt the language and images found in these materials for use in their own courts.
Toolkits:
- Building Trust & Confidence Through Model Websites
- If Walls Could Talk: Can Better Court Signs Help Build Public Trust?
Artwork for Sample Signage:
TMCEC would appreciate your feedback about this project and whether you incorporated it into your court’s website or signage. Please email tmcec@tmcec.com with what you found helpful and what changes you made in your court’s website of signage.
Funded by a grant from the State Justice Institute