Long Range Issue #3: Improve Understanding of the Judicial Process

• Branch-Wide Court Communication Plan
• Education and Outreach Initiatives

Branch-wide Court Communication Plan

In 2015, the Judicial Management Council updated the Long-Range Strategic Plan while also considering the communication goals of the judicial branch. Created with input from a broad range of stakeholders ranging from judges to court public information officers, the Court Communication Plan focused on effective communication, both internal and external, to enhance access to justice statewide.

In 2016, then Chief Justice Labarga tasked the Florida Court Public Information Officers with implementing the plan over the following four years – completing the plan’s implementation in FY 2020-21. The Florida Court Public Information Officers is a nonprofit organization of public information officers created in 2007 to keep communication open between and among courts. Representing all 20 circuits, the five district courts of appeal, the supreme court, and the Office of the State Courts Administrator, the Florida Court Public Information Officers were the clear choice for statewide implementation of a communications plan.

The organization’s members meet regularly to discuss issues related to communications and brainstorm solutions in a collaborative environment. Topics have included ongoing communication with the media, outreach to the public, social media strategies, and policies among many other challenges and opportunities public information officers encounter. The members’ devotion to transparent and open communication has effectively made “justice seen” to paraphrase then Chief Justice Labarga’s goal of the 2016 communication plan.

The Year Four Implementation Report & 2020 Pandemic Communications document provides a first-person perspective on the innovative efforts of public information officers through reflective quotes and commentaries. Here public information officers reflect on the impact of the communication plan implementation and how they navigated communication with the public during the onset and height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A persistent motif is the reliance on social media during the pandemic, its effectiveness for time and budget, and continued use for regular updates. Nearly all 20 circuits use social media to communicate and share information. Public information officers find it effective for communication between Florida courts, the public, and even across state lines. These robust social communications allow courts to learn from one another, continue innovating, and support each other during significant moments.

Education and Outreach Initiatives

Emilie Rietow, Supreme Court Public Information Office, provides a virtual tour on the steps of the Supreme Court Building, showing attendees the capitol building

Education and outreach are the cornerstones of demystifying the judicial branch and improving understanding of the judicial process for the general public. Transparency and education make the justice system easier to understand and more approachable for those outside the legal community. Countless initiatives, including citizen guides, school outreach activities, and citizen advisory committees, increase trust and confidence in the courts system. Circuits, appellate courts, and the supreme court have developed creative programs to help educate diverse audiences of all ages and backgrounds.

Independently, the public can access a wealth of information about the judicial system on the Florida courts, the supreme court, the district courts of appeal and the circuit courts’ websites. The following resources delve into histories and processes of the Florida court system.

• A Short History of the Florida State Courts System
• Education and Outreach
• About the Supreme Court
• Statewide social media accounts by circuit

Virtual Interactive Education for All Ages

Emilie Rietow, Supreme Court Public Information Office, gives a virtual tour of the supreme court courtroom

Even before the pandemic interrupted daily life, virtual education was beginning to thrive. With the amount of information available on the internet, learning about a new topic can be overwhelming. Creating interactive ways to engage learners makes education more exciting, accessible, and less overwhelming. At the onset of the pandemic, courts reflected on how educational resources were delivered to the public and pivoted to deliver much of that information within a digital landscape. Florida’s courts continue to reap the benefits of reaching audiences online.

Virtual Tours Come to You

Florida’s capital is rich with fascinating history for every age group. Educators often schedule tours of the supreme court to teach students from elementary to high school about the judicial system. At the onset of the pandemic, logistics for tours became complicated. Innovating was necessary to keep tours running, and virtual tours through video conferencing platforms like Zoom became standard. While some tours have resumed in person, virtual tours continue to be popular statewide and remove the physical obstacle of distance. Especially for younger students, the virtual tours give more freedom and confidence to ask questions from behind the screen and have shown higher levels of engagement overall. Additionally, virtual tours can accommodate up to 300 participants, allowing multiple classes to be present simultaneously. See the Tours and Educational Programs web page of the supreme court website to find more information or schedule a virtual tour of the supreme court.

Oral Arguments at the Supreme Court

Justices Lawson and Polston at the first in-person oral arguments since March 2020

The cases selected to be heard at the supreme court level are limited. If a party believes the case was wrongly decided at the trial court level, the party may elect to appeal to the appropriate district court of appeal. If the losing party wishes to challenge the district court’s decision, they may ask the Supreme Court of Florida to review the case. The supreme court has discretionary jurisdiction, allowing it to decide if it will or will not hear a case, except for a few specific circumstances. For example, all death sentences decided at the trial court level, and all decisions rendering a state statute or provision of the state constitution invalid must be reviewed by the supreme court.

Supreme court oral arguments are typically held on the first whole week of the month from August through June and are open to the public. Oral arguments are essentially a conversation between the justices and attorneys, during which the attorneys defend and explain their client’s position and support it with legal reasoning. Justices ask the attorneys questions, and the attorneys respond, creating a riveting exchange that is one of the many engaging ways to learn about the supreme court. Oral arguments can be seen in real-time via the Florida Channel and Facebook Live, and all archived oral arguments can be viewed online at WFSU’s Gavel to Gavel and YouTube.

Court News Florida

Court News Florida highlights judicial events from around the state, provides the public with a convenient way to obtain aggregated state court news, and reflects a statewide outreach effort that is bigger than the sum of its parts.

The project began in January 2021 as a single point of access for news provided by courts at all levels throughout Florida. In its first six months of operation, CourtNewsFlorida.org had more than four thousand unique visitors from across the nation and globe who saw the work of Florida court personnel highlighted.

During this period, visitors viewed the homepage more than 8,000 times. These numbers indicate the audience returns to read news and information about Florida’s courts, not just dropping in on single events. Among the most-viewed information were items about the Virtual Courtroom Directory; News by Circuit Court; Judicial Assignments in the Sixth Judicial Circuit; Pandemic at Year 1; and the Eighth Circuit Self-Help Center.

Court News Florida not only distributes the work of court public information officers on the web, but also through social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. More distribution is provided with a weekly newsletter to share information from the website. The most populous cities in Florida accessing the website are Tallahassee, Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, Miami, and St. Petersburg.

Court News Florida is a collaborative effort of the Florida Court Public Information Officers. It supports branch efforts to meet the goals detailed in the Long-Range Strategic Plan for the Florida Judicial Branch.

Court Publications

The State Courts System develops and distributes several publications to improve transparency and further demystify the courts system. Recent publications can be accessed through the following websites:

• The State Courts System’s Annual Report
• The Dispute Resolution Center’s “The Neutral”
• The Ninth Circuit’s Podcast, “The Open Ninth”
• The Fourteenth Judicial Circuit’s “Benchmarks”

Additionally, many entities and circuits have internal publications to promote continued education among specialized audiences, such as the Steering Committee on Families and Children in the Court’s “Family Fascinator” newsletter. This publication is distributed to family court judges and staff and includes content intended to encourage conversations among judges and staff assigned to family courts statewide. Circuits also distribute newsletters to their teams to provide encouragement, boost morale, and keep staff engaged with the justice system and each other.

Annual Reporters Workshop

To satisfy reporters’ requests to learn more about the judicial system, the supreme court, in partnership with The Florida Bar, hosts an Annual Reporters Workshop, which addresses matters relevant to reporters on the legal/courts beat. The Workshop is a tradition dating back to 1989 but was canceled in 2020 due to pandemic-related safety precautions. The Workshop typically includes topics such as reporting on high-profile cases, public records requests, and journalism in the world of social media.

In 2021, it was evident an in-person workshop could not be held, so The Florida Bar’s Media and Communications Law Committee, in collaboration with the supreme court, reimagined the Workshop to a digital setting. Instead of a single two-day event, several individual sessions were planned throughout the year.  Because of its virtual environment, the Workshop removed the obstacle of travel and allowed more professionals, such as public information officers, to attend.

Screenshot from an Annual Reporters Workshop Panel

On May 27, 2021, the first session was a webinar-style session entitled “Covering Trials After a Pandemic.” The webinar discussed public information, document access, and court technology regulations and its current role. It included a panel discussion featuring veteran reporters and court communications experts to provide a high level of engagement.

Palenists:

The Honorable Tara Green, Clay County Clerk of Court, President of the Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers

John Kennedy, Capitol Reporter, Gannett

Troy Kinsey, Capitol Reporter, Bay News 9 and News 13

Tricia Knox, Deputy Director, Florida Supreme Court Public Information Office

Sara Miles, Public Information Officer, Twentieth Judicial Circuit, and former President, Florida Court Public Information Officers

David Ovalle, Reporter, The Miami Herald

Eunice Sigler, Public Information Officer, Eleventh Judicial Circuit

C. Erica White (moderator), General Counsel, Office of the State Courts Administrator, Media & Communications Law Committee member

Thirty-nine television, radio, newspaper, and digital reporters attended the session, making it the largest turnout since the Workshop’s inception. The Media and Communications Law Committee received positive feedback from participants.