Judicial Council Adopts Operational Plan For California's Judicial Branch, FY 2003--2004 Through 2005--2006

At its meeting of December 5, 2003, the Judicial Council of California adopted a revised Operational Plan for California's Judicial Branch.  Effective January 1, 2004, the plan articulates 14 high-priority, state-level operational objectives, or ends (rather than activities or means), and 52 desired outcomes. 

The plan's objectives are intended to direct and inform the work of the California courts, the Administrative Office of the Courts, and the Judicial Council's advisory committees.  As such, the operational plan serves as a reference manual for judicial branch leaders charged with planning and implementing programs and initiatives to improve the quality of justice for all Californians.  Members of California's court community are encouraged to refer to the operational plan often in developing specific plans and in the pursuit of individual and collective efforts toward ensuring equal justice for all Californians. 

The plan, which will undergo regular review and revision, is posted at the California Courts Web site at:

http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/reference/documents/opplan2003.pdf

Trial Court Annual Progress Reports of Strategic Planning (Calendar Year 2003) Due Mid-April 2004 To Inform Judicial Council Planning Process

Annual Progress Reports (APR) of strategic planning (for calendar year 2003) will be due from California's 58 trial courts mid-April 2004.  The APRs provide the Judicial Council with an implementation update on each trial court's operational plan, and serve to inform the council's branchwide planning efforts.  The council's annual planning meeting is scheduled for June, 2004.  Details on how to file this year's APRs will be forthcoming from the regional offices in early January, 2004.

Trial Court Operational Plan Updates:  Format and Content

For purposes of ongoing plan updates and revisions, California's trial courts are urged to use the strategic plan format template prepared by the Community-Focused Court Planning Implementation Committee (task force), which is available on the task force’s Web site:

http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/programs/community/planning/phase2_resources.htm

Use of the template facilitates analysis of trial court plans--analysis that helps to inform the Judicial Council's branchwide planning efforts.   Plan content is, of course, at the discretion of the individual courts; however, in this time of increasing demands and reduced resources, court are encouraged to frame plan goals and objectives for meeting local needs within the context of the six broad goals and fourteen high-priority objectives of the Judicial Council’s newly adopted operational plan for California's Judicial Branch (see above announcement).  Interested courts can review the branchwide plan, which is posted on the California Courts Web site at http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/.  In addition, a sampling of trial court strategic/operational plans submitted in previous years is posted at the Serranus Web site, http://serranus.courtinfo.ca.gov/ under the programs menu option (contact  Jennifer Shih, 415.865.7480, at the AOC to arrange access to Serranus).

For additional information, contact Jack Urquhart at 415.865.7654 or email:  jack.urquhart@jud.ca.gov.