Access to Justice Committee

Overview

The Access to Justice Committee works to identify ineffective, inefficient, and unfair court management policies and procedures, recommends improvements, and advocates for their implementation. The Committee is committed to strengthening fairness, integrity, efficiency, and professionalism in the courts. Its mission is to provide practical information on how to build and maintain an effective and independent justice system that enjoys the confidence of the public and lives up to the expectations of transparency and accountability.

Chair: Mark DuPont

The Committee meets at 12:00 PM (CST) every second Tuesday of the month.

Click here to join the committee.

Current Projects

Court Recording and Reporting

• Monitoring the how court recording systems in Cook County eviction courtrooms are being implemented and working to expand such technology into all eviction courts in the county and the state; expanding to a nationwide project with the Appleseed Network on a to identify injustices related to a lack of court recording or reporting in other jurisdictions
• Working to bring court recording technologies into Cook County debtor/creditor courtrooms

Judicial Quality, Fairness, and Independence Review with the Appleseed Network

• Assessing what impact different judicial selection approaches (such as a Performance Commission) have on the quality and diversity of the bench and developing best practices in Cook County. Working to produce local protocols around community Court Watching and peer mentoring for judges.

Central Panel Approach to the Administrative Judiciary

• Promoting higher quality, more independent administrative judiciaries by researching state-based Central Panels and advocating for statewide and national expansion
• Developing a proposal for establishing an Advisory Council for state administrative adjudication to help ensure due process in hearings and the quality and diversity of administrative law judges.
• Consulting with Central Panels across the country to advise on best practices based on our research

Publications

• First 100 Days: New Directions for the Office of the Clerk of the Cook County Circuit Court (April 2021)
  • New Directions for the Office of the Clerk of the Cook County Circuit Court: Recommendations for Planning and Transitioning to New Leadership (September 2020)
• Cook County E-Court: Evaluating the Circuit Court’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic and Looking Toward the Future (August 2020)
• The Need for a Central Panel Approach to Administrative Adjudication: Pros, Cons, and Selected Practices (February 2019)
• The Case for Recording Devices in Cook County Eviction Courts (July 2016
• Policy Brief: Judicial Recusal (December 2012)
• Electing Judges in Cook County: The Role of Money, Political Party, and the Voters (April 2003)