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I, LESSONS LEARNED Proceedings of the Second Judicial Refom Roundtable held in Wfiamsburg, Virginia May 19-22,1996 .- NATIONAL CENTER FOR STATE COURTS US AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK .. ,> . LESSONS LEARNED Proceedings of the Second Judicial Reform Roundtable held in Williamsburg, Virginia May 19-22,1996 A program supported by the US Agency for International Development and the Inter-American Development Bank in collaboration with the National Center for State Courts Edited by Madeleine Crohn and William E. Davis National Center for State Courts November 1996 7% document was written in preparation for, and following, the Judicial Roundtable II held May 19-22, 19% in Williamsburg, Viiginia, at the National Center for State courts, with support fiom the U.S. Agency (USAID) for International Development and the Inter-American Development Bank OB). It may be reproduced and distributed for non profit educational purposes. Points of view or opinions expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the NCSC, USAID, and IDB. CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.............................................................................................. ii 1 ... INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................... 111 ESSAYS AND COMMENTARIES................................................................................. 1 I. JUDICIAL COUNCILS fl. Murtinez) ............................................................... 2 JUDICIAL COUNCILS .Commentary (R wheeler) ....................................... 12 COMMENTARY .............................................................................................. 19 I1. k CASE MANAGEMENT (C. Gregon'o)............................................................. 21 I1 . B. DELAY REDUCTION . Davis) .................................................................... 33 COMMENTARY .............................................................................................. 53 I11 . ORAL PROCESS (J. Vurgas)........................................................................... 55 COMMENTARY .............................................................................................. 73 IV. ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION (JK Davis. M . Crohn)................ 75 COMMENTARY .............................................................................................. 90 V . COALITION BUILDING (R Asselin. Jr.) ....................................................... 91 COMMENTARY ............................................................................................ 111 VI . PUBLIC DEFENDER (R Wilson).................................................................. 112 COMMENTARY ............................................................................................ 127 VI1. ETHICS (J shaman) ....................................................................................... 128 ADDRESS (I?Zemans) ................................................................................... 143 COMMENTARY ............................................................................................ 147 ADDRESSES................................................................................................................ 148 Address by the Honorable Mark L .Scbneider ............................................................ 149 Address by Charles E. Costello .................................................................................... 153 Address by the Honorable Roger K. Wa.en .............................................................. 157 ~PE~ICES.............................................................................................................. 160 .. List of Pa~cipants ...................................................................................................... 161 Steering Committee..................................................................................................... 166 Speakers, Faculty, and Staff........................................................................................ 167 Agenda. ........................................................................................................................ 168 i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Judicial Reform Roundtable 11 and the publication of its proceedings have been made possible because of the support and commitment of many persons and organizations. The Roundtable received financial and technical support fiom the US Agency for International Development and fiom the Inter-American Development Bank. The authors of monographs included in these Proceedings were generous with their time, and produced excellent essays despite stringent deadlines. Facilitators and Reporters were critical to the productivity of the many break out sessions held over three days. And, for more than a year of preparation toward Roundtable II, the National Center staff showed its deep commitment to the issues and reforms that were part of the Roundtable agenda. The most important aspect of Roundtable II accomplishments, however, can be found in the vision and energy of the forty-four Delegates, representing twenty-seven nations, who participated in three intense days of discussions. We, at the National Center, take great pride in having had the privilege of welcoming them to our headquarters. These leaders represent the best of our profession as, together, we seek justice and strive to improve services to our communities. We believe that Roundtable 11 helped generate a legacy and provided useful Zormation to the many partners who share in the mission of justice system reforms, and hope that the NCSC will have future opportunities for such Roundtables with other colleagues, worldwide. Roger K. Warren Linda Caviness President, Executive Director, National Center for State Courts International Programs National Center for State Courts ii INTRODUCTION Three years separate the first Judicial Reform Roundtable (JRTI) fiom the second (JRTII), held in Wdliamsburg, VA, on May 19-22, 1996. The two events are linked closely, and JRTII offered evidence of the dynamism and significance of Rule of Law reform efforts which took place in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in the intervening years. Thirty-five Delegates from twenty-one LAC countries' used this forum to discuss and compare national experiences and results. Aside from lessons learned through individual reform initiatives, the 1996 Roundtable helped surface these issues: Beyond differences among systems of law and legal culture, disparities in resources, and other significant variables, comparisons of experiences and exchanges of view points are informative and desirable. Most countries face similar basic difficulties and obstacles, and go through comparable stages of reform.' Further, these principles appear to be shared by many: there exists a universal interest in improving justice; those assuming justice related finctions perform a public service and are increasingly accountable as such; and, judicial and justice system leaders must play key roles in strengthening public confidence in the courts, and in building organizations that perform efficiently. The reform momentum still needs substantial nurturing. In several countries, justice system and traditional methods of delivering justice are literally under siege, and fixe criticisms that challenge their credibility. Progress made during the past ten years has been significant, but may be jeopardized if technical and iinancial support is not maintained. Justice officials are increasingly concerned about the public's demand for improvement. However, the other branches of governments are not sufficiently supportive and involved in these efforts. Within the justice system itseg adverse variables such as complacency or corruption, frequent turn over in leadership or insufficient expertise, impede the progress of reform strategies. The recent past demonstrates that improvements in the justice system are possible but, in many countries, these achievements are still in their early stages, and appear to be still too fragile to progress on their own. A continued presence of, and systematic coordination of efforts among Donors are critical to the reform momentum in the region. Significant progress has been made, but most reforms are still in their early stages or raise a new generation of iii questions that must be addressed. The region will be able to sustain efforts on its own, at some point; but expectations that it be able to do so now are premature and counterproductive. BACKGROUND In June, 1993, the first Judicial Reform Roundtable brought together 28 judicial leaders from 18 countries in Latin America, Canada and the United States, and 43 observers fiom Donor organizations, US Congress and federal agencies, and Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs). The US Agency for International Development (USAID) sponsored.the event, in coordination with the National Center for State Courts (NCSC). JRTI provided an opportunity to introduce ranking justice officials fiom throughout the region to trends in judicial administration in the United States and other parts of the hemisphere. Its purpose was to help identifjr priorities for change, with particular attention to practical features of reforms. Participants agreed that, throughout the hemisphere, core values were shared -- commitment to democracy, individual rights and individual dignity. They also